(A brief summary of the Service at Kenton for those unable to be there.)
By 2pm on Saturday 12th July, All Saints’ Church, Kenton, was filled with over 200 mourners from the village and farther afield,
for the Burial Service for John Hughes.
Altar piece, All Saints’ Church, Kenton
The Rector, Rev John Williams, read the Prayer Book Sentences,
I am the resurrection and the life,
I know that my Redeemer liveth,
We brought nothing into this world,
as the coffin was brought into church.
We sang, O God our help in ages past,
giving a mental NO to the line, They fly forgotten as a dream,
and said together Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd: therefore can I lack nothing.
The Readings were Wisdom 3:1-5,
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God
and Matthew 6:25-34,
Do not be anxious about your life,
affirmative and true to John’s character.
The Tribute, a combination of the Church Times Obituary and personal reflections, was movingly given by Fr Robert Mackley, Vicar of Little St Mary’s, Cambridge, and one of John’s close friends.
After the Prayers we sang the great hymn,
How shall I sing that majesty,
with its surprisingly modern imagery written by the 17th century English priest and poet, John Mason,
to the soaring tune Coe Fen.
As John’s coffin was carried from the church, all said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace:
according to thy word.
Many people went up to the peaceful hillside cemetery for the Burial Prayers. It was John’s wish to be buried in Kenton.
John’s parents were wonderfully composed and afterwards expressed the comforting thought that John had already in his life achieved more, and touched for good more people, than most of us do in a full lifespan.
May he rest in peace, and rise in glory.
“Chalice & Host” by Eric Gill
Both service booklets featured the Chalice and Host with Omega and Alpha by Eric Gill, whose work John loved.