On his Shoulders....

I felt honoured to be part of a truly wonderful memorial service to Neil today. It was a fitting tribute to an incredible person, whose many roles in life were honoured this lunchtime by those who knew him best.

My personal thanks go to an incredible team, from the Worship Team, to the Technical Ministries Team, the Stewards, the caterers, and obviously to all those who took part publicly. Their dedication, both in public, and in private, is testimony to the highest esteem in which we held this Brother In Christ.

I think descriptions of his athletic prowess were most apt, as he certainly has won his own eternal Victor’s Crown. But in thinking back over today, I recalled a phrase that I think sums up his legacy for me. It is a quote from John of Salisbury, a 12th Century theologian, and reads;

“We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours”

Pat's Thought for the Day:
Neil would have probably admitted, that in terms of human stature, he was not the tallest of men. And yet henceforth, whenever I shall think of him, the legacy of his life will be a foundation on which to build, and it will feel like standing on the shoulders of a giant.