An avid reader and regular attendee at literary festivals, Dave Biddleston from St John’s Church, Keynsham, recently travelled to Maidstone for a book event and whilst there he heard Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover and the Bishop in Canterbury, speak about her memoir, ‘The Girl from Montego Bay’. After listening to her story, Dave decided to stay behind to talk with Bishop Rose and her husband. He remembers thinking to himself, “My goodness, what a wonderful life to celebrate.”
That thought stayed with him and when he was contemplating hosting an author event at St John’s, his first thought was Bishop Rose. Dave wrote to her and she has agreed to come on Friday, April 17 from 18:30 - 22:00.
Her visit though, is not simply an author event, but is a way of helping raise funds for the church’s 750 Project, a fundraising campaign to support plans for a re-ordering of the church building. The vision is to create a more flexible space that offers wider opportunities for the community to use.
As St John’s church building is the largest indoor space available in Keynsham, the hope is to enable it to serve the town more fully. When considering the changes to the building, the team at St John’s has worked with more than 40 local organisations and charities.
Dave says the proposals are exciting for the church and local communities, “It’s about the church genuinely being at the heart of the community. I am a Christian. My faith is incredibly important to me. My faith was my upbringing, and my faith is my family. The people that support and look after me are my church family and I want that to be shared with the community.”
Dave hopes the author event with Bishop Rose will be a joyful, celebratory experience for everyone. “In the first instance, I was really keen for a celebration of faith. If we can make the first one successful, then we can look at other events. But I wanted to start from a point of faith.
“Hosting Bishop Rose as our first speaker is a celebration of faith lived courageously. Her journey from poverty in Jamaica to serving as Chaplain to the Queen and Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons is rooted in a steadfast trust in God. When you think about her life from that extraordinary poor start and how her faith carried her to extraordinary places, it’s remarkable.”
The evening with Bishop Rose will be a chaired conversation, followed by an opportunity for audience questions. There will then be a book signing, and refreshments. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.