"And shepherds were in the same district in 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!'" (Luke. 2:8-14).
Even as you read this, the above text is perhaps being given its annual airing at a carol service somewhere on this planet - though maybe not from the version so loved and trusted by this fellowship! Many of those services will be released on Youtube. Sadly, the same medium will also receive new contributions denying the authenticity and accuracy of Luke's account of Christ's birth, or suggesting that the continuity of "The Church," is doubtful. Not all such uploads will be the products of unbelievers. On the cusp of a new year, in a turbulent world, we have the blessing of knowing that all such considerations are secular in nature, if not always in origin. We are members of the body of Christ, the Ecclesia. We have "The peace that is superior to every frame of mind" (Phil. 4:8).
Twenty-three eager brethren gathered in early September for our annual conference, held for the fourth consecutive year amidst the changeless tranquillity and beauty of Cumbria, at The Thornleigh Hotel, Grange-over-Sands. The weekend was the mix we all know and love of warm fellowship with like-minded believers, edifying talks, and the attentive hospitality of the Thornleigh staff. We heard addresses from Andrew Maclarty, Douglas Faulds, Patrick Fitzpatrick, Allen Fairbairn and myself.
On Sunday morning, Patrick hosted our Praise And Worship meeting, a time of wonderful spiritual refreshment. He paid tribute to Trevor who did it so well by following the pattern of a much missed brother.
Linda Pengelly was our pianist, a role she has taken on so ably for many years now.
As always, most of us were able to stay over Sunday night, and this time we were treated to a second talk from Andrew, our senior man. Andrew covered the history and development of the Concordant version, and it was a fitting tribute to its priceless value for those of us whom God has led to consider it the most accurate English translation of his Word He has yet granted to us.
We were joined by an additional enthusiastic attendee for this talk, a lady who had enrolled for a course starting the following day. Regular conference attendees frequently and meaningfully refer to our conference as a spiritual oasis. We are a small and scattered fellowship, and opportunities to gather around God's Word are so painfully rare! If it's been a while since you joined us, please prayerfully consider putting an end to your absence. You can be sure of a warm welcome, and I assert with confidence that you won't regret attending! Don't send any money yet; we will send booking forms out with the next newsletter, a few months into 2025. It's always a good thing to save the dates though, so here are the details.
Dates: Friday fifth to Sunday seventh September 2025. Sunday night accommodation will again be available so that those of us who are able can extend our time of fellowship. The Venue: The Thornleigh Hotel, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria.
For details of the Conference venue, visit the Thornleigh Hotel website or click on this link:
If anyone has any ideas for further opportunities of fellowship for our brethren, please let me know.
Conference Saturday night saw us gather in time-honoured manner for an hour of Question Time - that title is the only thing the event has in common with its very fleshly weekly TV namesake!
I chaired a panel comprising Andrew Maclarty, Patrick Fitzpatrick and Allen Fairbairn who applied their spiritual insight to a variety of questions on the context and meaning of particular scripture texts. There was plenty of edifying discussion involving both panellists and the floor. Most questions had been submitted prior to the conference, meaning panellists had time to prayerfully prep their answers. On which point, there may be something approaching nine months between now and our next conference, but, as I always say, it's never too early to submit questions - as many as you like - for that Saturday night meeting, as many of you do. If God lays something on your heart for discussion, don't delay, send it to me today.
One seasonal tradition not to be found in the numerous chronicles of the history of Christmas concerns CBS members' subscriptions to Unsearchable Riches Magazine. A number of you ask Jan to pay over your subs to The Concordant Publishing Concern, which she does at the end of the year. If you would like Jan to do this for you this time around and haven't already told us, please send a cheque for £14, made out to The Concordant Bible Society.
Dear brethren, Are you online? It's been a while since I asked you this question: "Would you prefer to receive this newsletter via email? At this point, this publication lands in fifty-four inboxes and on forty-two door-mats. If any of you have recently entered cyberspace and would like to join the email brigade, please let us know - by, erm, email! You'll be saving us admin time and postage costs - have you bought a stamp lately! Use the email address in the contact details below. And so ends another CBS Newsletter and hard upon it, another year. However you feel led to understand this season of the year, we pray that God will richly bless you during it, and throughout the year to come.
That's all this time folks.
God willing, we look forward to seeing many of you at Thornleigh.
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
Back to the start.
About the Concordant Bible Society.
A Pattern of Sound Words.
Literature available.
Conference and meetings.
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