There are visitors from Abingdon’s twin town Argentan over for the weekend. The party includes two of the priests from Argentan’s parish church. They will be taking part in the Remembrance Day service.
As part of the cultural exchange they were told a little bit about Trinity Church, its history, and the history of the Methodist movement. A short extract was read from the diary of John Wesley – the founder of Methodism – and his impressions when he visited Abingdon on 22nd July 1741 …
Then the Argentan visitors went over to the church hall where a festive fair was in full swing and they could buy quince jam, marmalade and home made festive decorations, and have a go on the Tombola. After that bangers and mash was served up from the kitchen servery.
We discovered that since John Wesley’s visit, people in Abingdon changed. They are much cleverer!
And they do know welcome French friends.
Fr Christophe
With that kind of talk, little wonder they took Wesley off the telly…
I likewise recived a far warmer welcome from the good people of Abingdon when in 1969 I moved with my family to become Methodist Minister at Trinity. Our stay only lasted for 2 years, but ding that time enjoyed the colleagueship of the URC Ministers Rev. Green and Rev. Dr. Colin Thompson. The warm welcome and theological banter continues whenever we return to the town to visit our good friends from St. Michaels, John and Glenys Enticott.
Good wishes to the burgers of the town.
Jurat Rev. Peter Lane