Dear Brethren,
"And shepherds were in the same district the field fold, and maintaining watches at night over their flock. And lo! A messenger of the lord stood by them, and the glory of God shines about them, and they were afraid with a great fear. And the messenger said to them, "Fear not, for lo! I am bringing you an Evangel of great joy which will be for the entire people, for today was brought forth to you a Saviour, who is Christ, the Lord, in the city of David. And this is the sign to you: you will be finding a babe swaddled and lying in a manger." And suddenly with the messenger there came to be a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God among the highest! And on earth peace, among men, delight! And it occurred, as the messengers came away from them into heaven, that the shepherds spoke to one another, saying, "By all means we may be passing through to Bethlehem, and we may be perceiving this declaration which has come to pass, which the Lord makes known to us." And they came hurrying, and they found both Miriam and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger."(Luke 2: 8-16)
Yet again this Christmas, these verses from God's revealed, eternal and absolute truth will be read to congregations across the world and studied and meditated upon by groups and individuals. Their reach even extends into the secular realm - even Richard Dawkins likes going to Carol Services - yes, really! For those of us chosen by God's Will and Counsel for the inestimable privilege of receiving His revelation, they carry the blessed assurance of a God of love, grace and sovereignty, who is with us always, be the times turbulent or tranquil.
This year's CBS Annual Conference was held, for the third successive year, amidst the tranquil beauty of the Lake District, at The Thornleigh Hotel in Grange Over Sands in Cumbria.
Twenty-four of us met for the usual eagerly-awaited time of warm fellowship and edifying talks. There were six speakers this year: It was a particular pleasure to hear addresses from Andrew Maclarty and Allen Fairbairn who had not been able to join us last year, and other talks were given by Douglas Faulds, Patrick Fitzpatrick, Jim Johnson and myself.
Linda Pengelly was again our pianist.
We welcomed two Newbies: Bob and Kate Coates, who though conference initiates were not unknown to Jan and I, being respectively our brother-in-law and Jan's sister.
Saturday evening saw us gather for the usual stimulating question time session: all questions this year were clearly the result of keen Bible study and as we were able to furnish panelists with them in advance, their answers had also been closely thought through.
Our time of spiritual refreshment was supported by the warm and attentive service of our hosts, and the fleshly refreshment of Thornleighs chef, a cook at the top of his game this year!
We will be returning to The Thornleigh Hotel for next years conference, which will be held from Friday to Sunday, sixth to eighth September, 2024.
Sunday night accommodation will again be available for those of us who want to extend our fellowship into Monday morning, as most of us do if we can. If you haven't been to one of our gatherings before, or it's been a while since you came to one, do please prayerfully consider joining us. And although it's nine months away, it's never too early to submit an item for the Saturday evening question time, so if God lays something on your heart, please do send it to me as soon as he does so!
We aren't taking bookings for Thornleigh 2024 yet, but we will send out forms in a few months time, so save the dates as they say these days.
BREAKING NEWS
We have pre-booked The Thornleigh Hotel for the 2025 conference, which will be held,
God willing, from Friday to Sunday, 5th to 7th September, 2025.
Sunday night accommodation will again be available for those who want
to extend their fellowship into Monday morning.
For details of the Conference venue, visit the Thornleigh Hotel website or click on this link:
Three greatly loved brethren have passed away this year.
We mourn the passing of two highly esteemed women of this fellowship: Joyce Orton recently went to sleep in the Lord at the age of one hundred and three. A woman of great warmth and profound wisdom, Joyce supported her husband Frank in the Lord's work over many decades, including his time as Hon. Sec. of The Concordant Bible Society and his instrumental role in establishing and guiding our annual conference. Joyce is survived by three sons.
Irene Spink is now in repose, having died in her early nineties. Irene remained relatively healthy and active until close to the end of her life. She also in supported her husband Eric when God brought him forward to succeed to Frank's duties for our fellowship. Irene is survived by a son and two daughters.
The Spinks left their considerable library of Concordant literature to the CBS. The greater proportion was taken to our conference in September and most items were eagerly snapped up by brethren.
(Another cache of spiritual goodies came to light during house-clearing however. It currently resides here at Ferries Towers, but in the New Year Jan will inventory the contents. We will then send out a listing so brethren can request anything they would like from the inventory on a first come first served basis so we can continue to benefit from these items.)
Trevor Cutler died on sixteenth December peacefully at home. Trevor was heavily involved in the Blackheath fellowship from a young man when he went along with his mother Jenny. In later years, he regularly led services and was a very knowledgeable student of God's Word. In recent years, Trevor regularly attended conference, chairing meetings, and leading the Sunday morning Praise and Worship times, a role for which God had given him a particular gift. Trevor is survived by Terry and his 2 children Stuart and Joanne.
Quite apart from the transcendent event we believers connect with this season, the flip over of the year brings with it another micro-tradition peculiar to our fellowship: a number of you ask us to pay over your annual subscriptions for Unsearchable Riches Magazine to The Concordant Publishing Concern. Jan will be doing that at the turn of the year. Several brethren have already lodged their subscriptions with us. If you want to add yourself to the number, please send your money as soon as you can. £14 on a cheque made payable to Concordant Bible Society of GB will sort it for you.
However you feel led to acknowledge this season of the year, we pray that God grants you a peaceful and contented disposition as we await the return of our Saviour.
That's all this time folks.
God bless,
Malcolm and Jan
CBS Contact Details:
Malcolm and Jan Ferries, Flat 5, Redholme Court, Red Hill, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 1ND.
Email: sumo@honyaku.co.uk
(We do like email for written communication where it's possible: it saves the CBS postage costs, and as a blind person, blessed to have access to suitable technology, emails are very easy for me to access.)
Landline: 01384 379531
(We leave the answerphone on most of the time, but if we're in when you ring, we'll interrupt it., though that's more difficult now that BT have placed on us their Digitalvoice system, meaning we have less time to get to the phone and can't hear who is calling before we pick up - their idea, not ours! )
Mobile: 07763 187876
Website: www.concordantbiblesociety.uk
Please pass our web address on whenever you feel God giving you the leading to do so.
Grace & Truth magazine Contact Details:
The Editor, Andrew Maclarty, 3 Bishops Farm Mill, Witan Way, Witney, OX28 4DG.
Email: gracetruth@outlook.com.
Landline: 01993 706848 Mobile: 07722 693096
Website: www.gracetruth.co.uk
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