100 on Sunday

Today I had the great privilege and joy of visiting Revd Albert Ball. Albert is one of our supernumerary ministers and he will celebrate his 100th birthday on Sunday. He gave me permission to share something of our time together.

Revd Timothy Bradshaw, Revd Albert Ball and me.

Albert has served in many circuits and also as a forces chaplain during and after the second world war. As he talked about some of his experiences his faith shone out and I glimpsed glory. He showed me some of his paintings, beautiful water-colours. Some of the paintings showed very beautiful places; others very ordinary things in which Albert had seen and shared unexpected beauty. A building contractor's skip was transformed in Albert's painting from a mundane object to a colourful and beautiful object.

Revd Timothy Bradshaw, Superintendent of the Circuit and Albert's minister, was with us and we shared communion and prayed together, especially giving thanks for Albert's life and ministry. I asked Albert to choose a passage from scripture for us to reflect on and he selected Psalm 103.
This Psalm begins with the words:
                      Bless the Lord, O my soul,
                      and all that is within me,
                      bless his holy name.

Albert talked much of God's blessing in his life and he has been, and still is, a means of blessing to many.

Thank God for Albert and for all those faithful saints who remind us of God's goodness and help us to glimpse beauty in unexpected places.