The Revd Derrick Aubrey Barber

The Revd Derrick Aubrey Barber

21st September 1920 - 21st December 2008

Derrick was born in the valleys of South Wales in the village of Talywain, near Abersychan – his parents were Mary and Joseph. His mother was one of 17, and Derrick himself was the youngest of five children. All the children were gifted with remarkable singing voices, and Derrick's brother won the National Eisteddfod. Derrick toured the toured the country and sang as a lad – he was known as The Monmouthshire Nightingale - kept his marvellous voice right to the end, and singing was always a part of his ministry.

Derrick grew up in the Great Depression of the 1930's and it had a profound effect on his life, shaping his passionately-held political views and his preaching of the gospel of mercy and grace. In all his work he tried to support and encourage the underprivileged and to work for justice. He was in correspondence with Trevor Huddleston and Nelson Mandela, writing poems and raising money for the struggle against apartheidt.

When Derrick was 14 the whole family moved to Southampton in search of work. Derrick was apprenticed in the foundry of Harland and Wolfe the shipbuilders, where he learned to work with wood and iron, skills which he developed through the rest of his life -

He felt the call to the ministry as part of Bitterne Park Congregational Church – with no qualifications and little money, but determined and unstoppable, he worked at night school, passing the School Certificate exams and also learning Greek and Hebrew. He entered Western College Bristol, emerging with the Bristol B.A, and was ordained to the Ministry in Mount Pleasant Church, Hastings in 1945. He married Eileen in that Church in 1947. This was followed by ministries in Royston (1950-56), Beckenham (1955-1966), Torquay (1966-1983) and Clevedon and Nailsea(1983-1985)

Derrick was one of the founding ministers of Torquay Central Church, bringing together Belgrave Congregational Church, Union Street Methodist Church and Market Street Methodist in new premises on the site of the Belgrave building.

Ministry was multi-faceted – Church, Hospital Chaplaincy. Community Health Council, School Governor, caring for the young and old, the local Samaritans for over 35 years. He was a great friend to the smaller churches and would conduct worship in them throughout his retirement. Derrick brought his creativity, musical talent and unstoppable energy to all these tasks and many more.

In his final semi-conscious state, Derrick opened his eyes three times and exclaimed with all his usual vocal power "In all his wide dominion ..." We think he was reminding us that God is everywhere and everywhere to be served. This delightful, creative inspiring servant of the Lord is much missed, of course by Eileen, Valerie and Susan, but also by a much wider church family to whom he was a much loved guide and friend.

He gives snow like wool ....

From Psalm 147

12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders;
he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.
Praise the LORD!

A good text for a church in the middle of winter where the heating has given up the unequal struggle.

Bishop Elias Taban

The Bishop visited us today (November 22nd 2008) and spoke to a small congregation about his life and work in Southern Sudan. Many of us were deeply moved. I would like to think that the church could develop this link. To be going on with, here is a brief overview of the Bishop's life.

Born 10 May 1955; the day war began, triggered by the assassination of 50 unarmed southern policemen in Yei, ordered by a new northern Police Chief. Elias was taken by his mother and hidden with her in the bush for three days, within ten minutes of his birth, to avoid the fighting. His Christian parents wanted him to be literate and when mission schools were turned into Islamic schools by the Sudanese President in the sixties, Elias was renamed Muhammad Ali Mahnsoor.

He was then forcibly taken as a child soldier at the age of 12 by the southern Freedom Fighters. After a year, his father obtained his release and he completed his secondary education in a refugee camp in Uganda.

He studied as a building engineer. During the second phase of the 40 year long war, he undertook logistics planning, acquisition and implementation on behalf of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army. During this time, he was held in the Congo for several days, until his negotiated release – in exchange for 7 cows! However, he realised his primary goal in life as a church leader while helping to train chaplains for the SPLA

With the slowing of the violence, alongside his preaching he began job creation and income generating projects. With small amounts of seed funding from a British NGO, he established a building company that provides training and jobs producing timber, mud bricks and concrete blocks. Buying these products, he has built three orphanages, a multi-purpose training institute and guest house accommodation. This accommodation is of outstanding quality, such that the British Council has used it on several occasions for their training of the senior Southern Sudanese finance officers and police chiefs. This accommodation generates profits that support a women’s empowerment programme with a revolving micro enterprise fund overseen by his wife.

He officiated when the body of President John Garang was brought to Yei. He is a personal friend to the new President, Salva Kiir and an official, but unpaid, advisor to him on the country’s religious affairs.

He is the Bishop of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Sudan, an indigenous church with congregations around the country. As Bishop, he is elected by the General Assembly of his denomination for an initial term of five years. He is the inaugural President of the Evangelical Alliance of Sudan. He is married to Anne Grace. Their only child died of malaria at the age of one; they have adopted three war orphans from different

We just LOVE Richard Dawkins!

We just LOVE Richard Dawkins!!

Over here at Black Sheep Towers we know a class act when we see one, and, lets face it, Richard Dawkins is "The Business" - single handed he is probably driving more people to God than anyone else in the land. God's gift to Atheism. Borrow "The God Delusion" (don't buy it - why augment his pension further?), and read it. You will find a farrago of anti-religious rant, mind-blowingly arrogant dismissals of fellow-scientists who disagree with him, special-pleading and philosophical amateurishness that it's hard to beat. If religion, and especially Christianity, can provoke this kind of intemperate malice then there must be something either very bad OR very good about it! On THIS page we will be posting some brief reviews of books which tackle the questions he raises, as a guide to the perplexed..

Testing out e-blog.el

I've just discovered e-blog.el which allows you to post, edit, label and delete posts on one or more blogs on Blogger *via Emacs*!!

Lets see if it works ......