A lunch celebrating the 100th birthday of Dick Lucas was held at St Andrew Undershaft.
Many old friends and past colleagues gathered; I was there, having been on staff in the mid-1980s.
Thanks were given for gospel transformation, testified by those whose lives have been touched over the decades since Dick began his ministry in 1962.
A teenager said he'd found his heart "strangely warmed" in hearing the gospel over several Tuesdays - followed some weeks later by a simple tea and Bible study when he encountered Jesus Christ. When he left Dick’s kitchen he felt as if he was "walking on air." His story was, of course, one of many.
Most moving, despite great frailty, was a completely spontaneous response from Dick himself.
With his customary grace and remarkable lucidity, he spoke about an open door - how God made a way for him to come to St Helens; an open Bible - the rationale for his local and church-wide ministry of God’s Word being faithfully taught; and an open heart - demonstrating how such openness brings mighty transformation in the lives of women and men.
Perhaps one line to all Bible teachers of all ages and stages is worth remembering... Dick said: "I never once went into the pulpit unprepared."
St Helen's Bishopsgate - where Dick was Rector from 1961 through to 1998 - wrote: "On Sunday 14 September we gathered to celebrate Dick Lucas' [100th] birthday together.
"We praise God for Dick's life and for the example of faith and Christian heritage he passed down to so many and continues to live out each day."
