Village People
By David Tingley
I can only assume that the next door neighbours who invited James’ family to church after they moved house in 1962 had no knowledge of the long-term impact of their generous actions. Not a family of churchgoers, his parents declined the offer but pushed seven year old James forward instead. The two sisters and brother kindly took him to church twice every Sunday for several years. James was brought up in the small Welsh market town of Llandovery in rural Carmarthenshire and, in his words, ‘Its main claim to fame is being the birthplace of hymn writer William Williams (‘Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah’). His grandparents ran several small businesses there, including a hotel, bakery and café, and his father worked in the family business. After attending school at Llandovery College, James studied Political Science and Economics at University College Wales in Aberystwyth and found the change from boarding-school to student life liberating: “On my first day, I sat in my room waiting for a bell to ring as it used to at school. I soon discovered to my delight that no bell rang and I was master of my own destiny. It was a great three years.” James became interested in academic work as a career and went on to be a researcher in the David Bruce Centre in the Department of American Studies at the University of Keele while doing an MA. Part of his responsibilities at the time were helping to organise and host visiting lecturers at the David Bruce Centre, which included former Prime Minister Harold Wilson and White House Counsel and Watergate defendant John Dean – who arrived at the campus by helicopter! He went on to spend four more years at Keele working on his doctorate in American history and political theory. “I loved the academic life,” James explained. “We used to go for long pub lunches where one person would bring a paper to read and discuss before submitting for publication. It was such a collaborative and creative process.” However, two more important things took place while James was at Keele. After a period where church didn’t play a part in his life, he found the Christians he met at Keele were ‘more than Sunday worshippers’ and that piqued his interest. With a very active Christian Union at university he was soon ‘converted’ and became a Christian. At around the same time a certain young student called Chris Foster started her degree in International Relations and also became part of the bustling CU. It wasn’t long before interest turned into romance, and – in fact – the pair got married just three years after they met, in the very chapel where James had been an invigilator for Chris’ exams eight weeks earlier! During these years at Keele James’ ambition to become a professor by the age of 40 had begun to recede, as his new faith had blossomed.
To find out more about their amazing life together and James’ journey to Lindfield, look on page 36 in September’s issue of Lindfield Life for the full article.
James’ last Sunday at All Saints Church will be Sunday 4th October.