Only 4 days to go until my sabbatical ends!
I am so grateful to the church for giving me this time.
I have tried to use it well and if you read over the pages of this blog you can see just some of the ways I have done that.
I am now ticking of my last few goals, and one of them was visiting my good friends and mentors; Pat Goodland and his wife Beryl
I had to go to Malvern today for other reasons so I called in on them without warning.
They were in! As a bonus I also met friends Bill and Joan Openshaw who were round having coffee with Pat and Beryl, while visiting the area from Sunderland (they had once been in Pat's church.)
We talked about the old days ,of course, but we also talked about today, and what the church needs to change to engage with the culture and share the Good News of Jesus.It was fantastic to speak with an 80 year old not stuck in the past but with a passion to share Jesus in the 21st century. From what Pat said he is not so much retired as recycled!
I am very biased but historians should not underestimate the highly significant part that Pat played in Baptist history in the second half of the 20th century. He was involved in the early days of TEAR FUND ,of Mainstream which did so much for BU churches,and in a host of other ways. He was also a huge encouragement to me and indeed still is
It was great to see them again!
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