Peter's memorial service

Before lunch today, I went down to Holy Trinity in the centre of Geneva to meet with former organist Keith Dale who'd come over from Bangkok for this afternoon's Memorial Service, en route for Britain where he's due to play some concerts next week. So, when I arrived he was practicing on his former instrument. Where he is now living, he teaches piano and seldom plays the organ. When he performs it's on the harpsichord he took with him. His is only one of four in the city. He is hatching a plan to get all four together to play the Bach concert of four harpsichords, he tells me. That'll be a first, no doubt. When he'd finished we went over to Manor and drank coffee and talked for a couple of hours, and I heard all about his enthusiasm for life in a new city with a new culture and language to engage with. Quite an adventure.

After we parted company, I went back to Manel's, changed into my best suit, collected my alb and headed back to Holy Trinity Church good and early to prepare for the service. Another old friend and colleague  Pastor Ken Kvistad, who helps out at the church nowadays was there to welcome everyone on behalf of the Chaplain. He's in the Holy Land this week. There was a congregation of 150, and the place was full, with ex UN colleagues, plus present and past members of the congregation, plus his two sons and spouses and his ex-wife. I was meant to round off the tributes and lead into prayer, but succeeded in missing one rather lengthy hymn altogether, which disappointed some and relieved others at it meant we ended punctually enough to have decent time for the reception that followed in true Holy Trinity style.

It was a lovely occasion painting a rich portrait of a man who had for several decades set the tone of welcome and quiet pastoral care, with his friendliness and often outrageous sense of humour, mocking our frailties, passions and pretensions, but never deriding or humiliating anyone. His was a life well lived, and he will continue to be missed until his generation of adventuring young internationalists determined to make the world a better place by their efforts, have gone the way of all flesh.