1975 and 2022

1975 was the year I married. The original picture, on the right, was taken in the fields of Kent where my brother lived with his family. The previous few years were memorable. I became a Christian believer in 1972 and began attending Church in Newcastle-under- Lyme. It was there that I began to learn about the mission to make Christ known.

 

In 1973 I signed up for a 'summer holiday' with United Beach Mission in New Quay - the Welsh town not the Cornish one. We stayed in  a garden shed and met daily for  bible study, prayer and outreach to families on the beach. I think this is the first time I used my guitar in a worship setting. Also it was a time when I first started to think about setting the psalms to music.

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In 1974 I began reading about Christian Apologetics. Having come from a scientific background I was interested in the the way Science and faith interacted. I began to read books by Francis Schaeffer. His book 'Pollution and the death of man' (1970), tackled the subject of the ecology  problem, long before it became mainstream.

 

The Schaeffers  lived in Switzerland and had founded a retreat called L'Abri . It was open house to anyone who was seeking to learn more about the relationship between Christianity and culture. I packed my tent and headed off there for the summer of 1974. I spent the days trawling through a large library of materials on a range of subjects, including music and art. Professor Rookmarker's book ' Modern Art and the death of a culture' was a revelation. I think there was time for song writing as well.

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In 1975 I was challenged by the work of Operation Mobilisation (OM), who had a worldwide approach to mission. I signed up for a summer mission and took my car across to France. We spent the mornings in seminars and times of worship, and the afternoons doing practical evangelism through the streets of Besancon. It was very formative and inspiring. OM is still a powerful force throughout the world.

 

More recently

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Since retiring from teaching I have been working on The Psalms Project and I am thankful for my family, friends and the local Church for their on-going support. Apart from my background in Folk Music, other influences have been the challenges and joys of life, the witness of the church worldwide and contemporary Christian Music.

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