More on Big Brave Bill

I should add to a previous post that Big Brave Bill has his own website here. What I'd like to know is where Big Brave Bill was when we had a puncture during our abortive trip to Barnsely earlier in the year - although come to think of it that may well have been him who helped us fix it in the end. See the brief PS here.

18th century baptistry

Here's something I came across on my recent travels - a plaque marking the site of a baptistry used in the 18th century by the Baptsts of South Craven. The South Craven Baptist Church currently occupies a modern building opposite the beck where baptisms took place in times gone by. The church started in 1711.

Titus Salt

In Saltaire today and here with a bust of Mr Salt himself, one of the Christians featured in Faith Cook's book. 

Fine gold from Yorkshire

As we were to be spending some days in Yorkshire I thought I'd start reading Faith Cook's new set of biographies Fine gold from Yorkshire. I've just finsihed it here in the dales. This is a collection of a variety of short biographies of various lengths and from various periods and contains some well known Christians such as Wilberforce and Wycliffe, unknowns like Ruth Clark and Robert Arlington, people not necessarily known as Christians, such as Titus Salt, Kit Calvert and Anne Bronte, and others such as Hudson Taylor who are well known enough but may not necessarily be connected with Yorkshire. Faith Cook has a light touch and keeps up the interest well. The first and last words are given to Roger Carswell and it is clear that one hope is that the book will be picked up by the casual reader and that they will be drawn to the gospel. We pray that will be so. There are 21 biographies from various ages though perhaps with a bias to the 18th century and a little rag bag at the end mentioning a few more.

PS On the way up here we popped into Barnsley hoping to see the pharmacists where Hudson Taylor began but all we managed was a puncture! Ah well, next time!

Lord's Day April 16 2017

Having been in the wedding we have stayed on in Crosshills or South Craven, thanks to the kindness of our son's future in-laws. We went to South Craven Evangelical morning and evening. We have known of this church for many, many years initially I think because of a medical student from the church who came to London to study. I would also get news from one of my deacons who often holidays in the area and the now former minister who I would see at the Banner Conference. It was a very small fellowship at one time and could not afford a full time pastor at one time.

Anyway this morning they met in a local school and were over a hundred, though many were visitors from the wedding. It was a a "family service" so a bit out of the ordinary, Beauty and the Beast was the theme. The evening was more conventional, back at the church for communion first and then the service, which was led by Martin Woodier, one of the current ministers, with the other  Paul Gamston preaching. He went through Exodus 23, the next reading in the daily reading scheme that people are being encouraged to follow. A good day.

Yorkshire Wedding

In Yorkshire again this weekend and again at a wedding. This time, it was Pieter de Jong, who grew up in Childs Hill, and Coralie Severs. My oldest son is Pieter's lifelong friend and he was best man. My niece is a good friend of Coralie's and was one of a host of bridesmaids. It was a great day.

Yorkshire - Think on't

Happy Valley

I have refrained from mentioning the recently finished BBC series Happy Valley as not everyone who sees this blog is necessarily happy to watch such dramas and as I never find people going on about TV series much fun (it's not like a film where you can go out and watch it). However, this is the second time that writer Sally Wainwright has impressed so I thought a little note might be okay. You might even want to get the DVD of the six one hour programmes. Happy Valley is near Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. The series focuses on a police woman and her family and a crime that quietly insinuates itself into several lives. All the characters are flawed, some more than others and they all think they are innocent more or less. This is Wainwright's best insight - our utterly flawed nature and our point blank refusal to see it. Each one of them is crying out, if only they knew it, for a biblical understanding of themselves and of sin and guilt and forgiveness. It moved me and made me want to pray.

A weekend in Yorkshire

We spent last weekend in Yorkshire, leaving London on Friday morning and returning late Sunday evening. We stayed in a very nice guest house on Whitby itself.

The main reason for going up was to be at a wedding. Eleri's cousin's son was marrying a Whitby girl, the third wedding in three years for that family of five, so we will all be twiddling our thumbs rather next August. The wedding itself was in Whitby Evangelical Church, (see here especially) a former shop on Skinner Street that has been attractively converted. The sermon was given by John Perry the groom's brother-in-law and was a straight UCCF style gospel presentation. With several unbelievers present it was good to focus there. The whole service was God honouring and a joy to be involved with. That can be said  pretty much about the whole day, which continued with a cake reception at the church then a formal meal at the plush nearby Raithwaite Hotel and dancing 'til late (hopefully not too late). The several speeches were of a very high order, Daniel the groom singing unembarrassingly to his new bride and the seriously funny best man (Alex Passmore) making us all laugh but finding time to testify to God's goodness too, before rounding things off by being joined by a male voice choir to give a slightly amended rendition of Danny Boy. I'm not sure if I've been to a wedding where a wedding planner has been involved before but all sorts of things seem to have been thought of to add to the whole thing. We were sat on a table of 5 couples, most of whom, it turned out, were pastor's kids.

The following day we headed on to have lunch with friends in Carlton Minniot, attending the service at Hambleton Evangelical Church. The preacher that morning was David Owens from Milnrow Evangelical church. His sermon was evangelistic like John the day before but the two sermons could not have been more different. David used a score or more of anecdotes to back up his message, a call to repentance and faith. I guess D L Moody would have preached something like that. There was something decidedly old style evangelist in it.
It was goo to catch up with the Davies's but conscious of the long journey ahead we decided to go further south that afternoon and attend Wycliffe Independent Church, Sheffield. I have never been there before though I know one or two in the church, including the minister Ed Collier. Ed was preaching from James 1 on profiting from suffering. Not evangelistic this time, this was a careful and clear exposition of the passage and theme and for the third time a privilege to hear.
All three of these churches would be similar in that they are evangelical churches in the Lloyd-Jones tradition. They have all had Presbyterian ministers but are probably mostly made up of Baptists. Sheffield (founded 1908) is the oldest and largest with a nice airy building put up in 1994 and set in a busy part of the city. They currently have one minister and would like to increase their staffing back to the two they had until Spencer Cunnah headed this way. Hambleton (begun in 1969) is much smaller and is in the countryside. They have recently called Richard Wigham from Llantrisant, who will be inducted next month. The church in the seaside town of Whitby (formed in 1973) with its extensive refurbished property is probably somewhere in between size wise and is currently without a minister.
My knowledge of the Yorkshire Reformed scene is quite limited but it was good to get this little taste.