The one and only time I met my sponsoring Bishop - and his guest.


I wrote yesterday about my sponsoring Bishop, Oliver Tompkins. Although I went to theological college with his approval we had never met ....  until ...

 Bishop Tompkins, with other Christian Church leaders in Bristol sponsored what was called the South West Ecumenical Conference  (SWEC)  in 1973.

 As one of his Ordinands  I was pressed into service, and had no choice in the matter.

 I owned a car, so was press ganged to be a Chauffeur for the visiting dignitaries.

 I arrived at the Bishop's House in Clifton, Bristol for my first gig.

 The Bishop himself opened the front door of his home.

 Then he summoned my passenger from inside the house.  Bishop Tompkins said to the passenger " I want you meet one of my ordinands" .  This tickled me pink 'cause the good Bishop had never before met me and did not know my name.!

 Then came my brush with ecclesiastical  fame.  My passenger was none other than the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches from 1948 -1966, the famous (or infamous for conservative evangelicals )  Dr. Willem Visser 't Hooft.

Visser 't Hooft was one of the great heroes of the post WWII movement for Christian Unity;   and I met him!

 I have no memory of our conversation as we drove from Clifton, Bristol  to the site of SWEC seminars in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol.

 But of course I will always  remember that I chauffeured one of the ecclesiastical greats.  

 Not one, but two  for at the end of the day I ferried  another "great" to Bristol's Temple Meads Railway Station.

 I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not remember the words “ar
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were able to get together a few
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur
Read more