Faith stories - Pamela
Tell us a little about yourself David:
Edinburgh feels very much like home, even after only having lived here since September 2023. A huge part of that feeling links to the warmth of the fellowship at Bruntsfield Evangelical Church. It is such a blessing to be part of this Church.
However, I'm no real stranger to Scotland, having been born in Glasgow and brought up on the south side where my family were members of Cartsbridge Evangelical Church.
England and Scotland merge closely in my family with time spent in both for my parents (during their lifetime) and also my sister and her family, but all of us returned to Scotland! My Dad was in Christian publishing, so from an early age I developed a great love for reading Christian books.
While I am Scottish, for most of my life I have lived in London! In fact over half of it (so far)! After finishing studies in Glasgow, I went to London for a further year of study and ended up living there for 46 years! My first full time job was with a local newspaper in South London for three months, then I worked for two publishers near the British Museum. It was a time of huge learning and increasing typingen speeds! After that, having been volunteering at a wonderful Church nearby, I then joined the support staff and ended up working there for the next 40 years in various roles.
Tell us about some big events that you have lived through that has defined you:
Most of the big events I've lived through featured many of the London-based Events - including the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981 (a group of us from Church slept overnight on the pavement of the Mall), the Millenium celebrations on the Thames - after an early ‘Watchnight’ Service at Church which included a version of ‘Who wants to be a Millenium-aire?’ complete with a huge cardboard model of Big Ben through which the host entered on to the platform via a door at the bottom! I can still remember the Bible verse that the Minister quoted from Jeremiah 6: 16 for his 8 minute talk : ‘This is what the Lord says : “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” It was the perfect bridge verse for 1999-2000 given all the fear that had arisen about what might happen as the world entered a whole new Millenium.
Big global events included the death of Princess Diana in August 1997 when it seemed like the whole of London went into open mourning, the terrible 9/11 twin towers attack in 2001 and the Death of HM Queen Elizabeth 2 in September 2022.
What’s the hardest thing you’ve experienced in your lifetime?
On a global level it has to be the Covid pandemic from March 2000. The isolation, social distancing, sudden 'working from home' and changing updates on restrictions with different advice for England and Scotland. Even now putting on a mask to do cleaning can stir a bit of PTSD for memories going back to then, and I have a bit of an allergic reaction still to zoom and seeing real people reduced to flat little boxes on a screen.
On a personal level without a doubt it has been bereavement, primarily of both my parents who died within weeks of each other just over 18 years ago.
What is the greatest thing you’ve seen the Lord do in your lifetime?
This has been a hard one to answer as there are so many things that would fit! The top one is receiving His saving grace through Christ’s death on the Cross for me to pay for my sins and bring me into a living relationship with my Heavenly Father. A more recent one is the way God ‘opened the door’ for me to return to live in Scotland was extraordinary.
What one lesson would you want to pass on to the future generations of BEC?
Cherish the time you have here through encouraging one another in the Lord (1 Thess 5 verse 11).
