It is with sadness I write this months copy for Chipperfield News. Father Des had been ill much of the time I have been in Chipperfield and to my great regret and shame I never found the time to meet him. It was a show of unity that as many as possible of the local clergy were present at his Funeral on Tuesday  29 April. It was an occasion of thanksgiving and it was also very evident that he was much loved and had done so much for so many.
We Christians come in all shapes and sizes but there is a common bond between us. Why we do one thing this way and another differently must seem strange to some. But what holds us together is the one in which we hope and believe in. Jesus did not give us the definitive structure for church, his words on the matter were “I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples”. Unity comes at a price, yes! there is a cost involved. Jesus also told us that “This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends.”  This means laying all that you are down, so that we put others before us. Now that is expensive but if we believe that God is with us and has our best interests at heart, it is a price worth paying.
From what has been said of Father Des he served those God had placed in his care with faithfulness, love and by laying himself down for others. My prayers and thoughts and those of Chipperfield Baptist Church are with his family, friends and the congregation he ministered to. In God he trusted and God is forever faithful.
Love Jason, The Man in the Manse