I'm in my home town of Colne. Here for the class of 1955 reunion.
Colne has some picturesque views including vistas of Pendle Hill. (Background)
Around 400 years ago this area was a hot bed of witch's covens and other occult activity.
It was in 1650 that George Fox arrived on the scene. He became the founder of the Quaker movement.
Fox climbed Pendle Hill and earnestly prayed on the summit.
Two things happened:
1)He had a vision of a great harvest of souls for Christ.
2) Within ten years there was a spiritual revival and Mother Demdike and the twisted sisters were gone.
If I have the legs I'll climb Pendle Hill before I leave for the South. If I don't make my next appointment send out a search party!
Ian
A few miles from my home town of Colne is the world renowned village of Haworth.
It is situated on the bleak Yorkshire moors and is revered as the birthplace of the Bronte sisters.
A lesser known fact is that William Grimshaw preceded Reverend Bronte as the presiding minister of the Haworth Anglican church.
During his tenure Grimshaw invited George Whitfield the great evangelist to preach for him.
That Sunday the crowds were numbered in the thousands and overspread the surrounding moors. Standing on a husting Whitfield announced his text, Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed unto man once to die and after death the judgement"
Immediately there was a cry from among the crowd. Someone had fallen down dead. The body was brought forward and laid before the pulpit. Whitfield began again with the same scripture and solemnly repeated the text. There was another scream and another man fell to the ground.
When Whitfield announced his text for the third time great fear had come over the congregation.
With distant thunder and dark clouds gathering on the horizon the evangelist preached his sermon.
It is recorded that a thousand souls found peace with God through Christ that day.
Don't you think it strange that among all the Bronte memorabilia that fill the vicarage and Haworth museum, this one startling piece of history is left unrecorded!
Another factoid from my English tour.
Ian
I'm at my Grammar school reunion for the class of fifty five.
That's 1955 by the way!
I'll be meeting friends I have not seen for fifty or sixty years.
One of them will be Brian Greenwood. He and I were voted the people most likely to do hard time in prison.
How wrong can you be. He became a police officer and I became a preacher.
I'll also be seeing an old flame of mine, Christine Robinson.
It's O.K., Pauline my wife is cool about it. We will be meeting for a cup of tea and a chat, not going to the movies. These old flames get older! Christine is now a great grandma and I'm a grandpa nine times over.
I hear that my brother in law, David Barrett, is coming up from Southampton to keep an eye on me at the Reunion dinner.
He will probably have a walking stick on hand to yank me off the stage if I get too long winded in my speech!
When I get home we will have photos then and now!
Ian
