When you are feeling low and downhearted over a serious matter, sit quietly and peacefully in an undisturbed place. And ask the Lord God to help you. Be sincere and have faith. Make no mistake, your request for help will be forthcoming – I know and have experienced such help. And maybe through this excellent magazine that I can share my experience to you.
Mr RMG, Horncastle

The letter of Mr JLT of Sevenoaks on the Autumn 2009 issue made me wonder because I never gave any thoughts about the dinosaurs as uninterested.

An experiment? Why not more reasons to think about God, about diversity in creation, about our ultimate destiny and the destiny of all other creatures?
I love the PT.
A. Polverini, Genoa Italy

In the last issue, the writer Mr JL of Herts (No longer interested) though brief, left me wanting more. Our own faith has ‘matured’, certainly ‘deepened’ to a point over the years, perhaps we could say it’s become ‘more proactive’ and we feel we challenge all the ‘old bunkum’ we once bought into.

The Plain Truth is a publication for all seasons – like Vivaldi whose music was for all seasons too. Your magazine has such depth, and not being attached to a single Christian Church, embraces a wide scope of views. This for us is of great value. We pray that God will bless and forever guide you.
Mr & Mrs TM, Conwy

Church survey
I wonder if some of your readers could help us with our Survey? It’s the first of its kind and includes buildings of every Christian denomination, of all ages and conditions, to understand how they are maintained, repaired, funded and used by their local communities. The Survey aims to create a national picture of the current status of these places of worship. All churches, chapels and meeting houses in the UK are encouraged to submit their information.

So if you are involved or responsible in the repair / maintenance of your church building, the please go to: http://survey.nationalchurchestrust.org (The Survey will take place from 1st April 2010.)

Winning title
Thank you for sending me the book Against usury by Robert Van de Weyer which I was fortunate in winning in your free draw advertised in the Winter issue. It was a very pleasant surprise and proved to be a very interesting – if sobering – discourse. As a token of my appreciation I enclose a contribution towards the continuation of your magazine.
Mr M Camnack, Surrey

We are pleased that Mr Camnack enjoyed reading this recently-published title by Rober Van de Weyer. Our other winners were: Peter Oyston (W.Yorks); Mrs Beddow (Chepstow); Natasha Jevtovic (Paris); Timothy Moody (Germany).

Thank you for the article The Kingdom and its Challenge (p20, Spring 2009) in which Roy Lawrence called for the Lord’s Prayer to be said more thoughtfully so that we have time to think about what the words ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ really mean. Roy said that too often this prayer is hurried through almost automatically.

I belong to a Dance in Worship group in Hounslow in West London and we dance in churches to The Lord’s Prayer set to music. We too find that the slower tempo, the beautiful music and the movement really help us to appreciate the importance of the words.
Ms AW (www.danceinworship.org.uk)

Ms Hammond’s article (A threat worse than terrorism?, Winter 2009/10) basically says that we should believe what the IPCC tells us and act accordingly, a sentiment endorsed by the interview
within the article.

Now I understand that a quarterly magazine has long lead times and that the article might have been written some time ago, but as I write in February 2010, the ‘authority’ of the IPCC is unravelling on an almost daily basis. Also, the Met Office, a leading pro global warming body, has come under considerable fire for its poor predictions (barbecue summer and mild winter).

If they can’t predict the weather a few months in advance with any degree of accuracy, what hope for 100 years time? How is the Christian to react to all this? My view is that it’s clear that we are
required to be good stewards, but I very much doubt that we need to implement the sort of extreme measures advocated by environmentalists. What if we spent trillions of dollars on tackling global
warming and then discovered that it was all in vain?

With that kind of money we could eliminate poverty throughout the world. What an almighty wasted opportunitythat would be!
Chris B (via e:mail)

Yes, of course, eliminating worldwide poverty for good would certainly be a fantastic opportunity. But would just using the money diverted from tackling global warming ever eradicate such an enormous,
on-going, world-wide problem? And if global warming is to be believed, then it is the poorest of the poor that will suffer the most from this issue.

Worthwhile charities
I was so pleased to see the advertisement on the back cover of The Plain Truth for Smile Train. I have supported them for some time and think they are a very worthwhile charity. May I draw your attention to another?

‘Livability’ which works with – and for – disabled people and is an equally worthwhile charity that deserves support.
Miss JB, Midhurst

Although the charity going by the name ‘Livability’ maybe a new name to many, the organisation has been around for over 160 years. Creating opportunities for disabled people the charity Livability (registered no. 1116530) is the operating name for Grooms-Shaftesbury which was originally established by two Victorian visionaries, John Groom and the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury (both of whom have previously been featured in The Plain Truth magazine).

Important issue
Thank you for sending me your magazine over the years – it is excellent. I notice that you are referring a little more to ‘less flesh-eating’ and covering more on issues such as care of our animals and also taking care of the planet.

I enclose various booklets and papers from organisations supporting vegetarianism and animal welfare. I would hope that maybe in the future you could do an article on this important issue.

In everything, doing to others what you would have them do to you sums up the Law and the prophets. If we follow the Bible teaching of love to God and neighbour to their natural conclusion, we
will respect the rights of animals to live their lives according to the natures with which God endowed them – and free from interference from mankind. Pain is pain, whether inflicted on man or beast. And we who inflict it, inflict evil.
Mr BG, Belfast

An avid reader
I have been asked by Mrs Emma Gulliford, the widow of Rev. Dr. W. Gulliford, to submit a piece about her husband who died last year. He was a subscriber and an avid reader of your magazine for many years.
If you are able to print this notice in your magazine and there is a charge, please let me know.
Mrs BW, Southport

As well as being an avid reader of The Plain Truth, the late Rev. Dr. W. Gulliford was also a regular writer to our letters page over the years. (We believe his last published letter appeared in our February-March 2007 issue.)
On this occasion we have space on this page and are able to grant your request. In doing so, we hope to play our small part in acknowledging such a long-serving ‘Preacher’ of the Gospel. (See below.)

Obituary

REV. DR. W. GULLIFORD (BILL):1918 –2009

A long-time subscriber and an avid reader of The Plain Truth for many years, Rev Dr W Gulliford died on 19th September 2009.

At the age of 13 the then ‘Bill’ Gulliford was known as ‘The Boy Preacher’ when he began his ministry in South Wales. He eventually became an international evangelist – preaching to congregations from 5,000 to30,000 people –until three months before his 90th birthday.

When ‘Bill’ Gulliford was eight-years-old he was the ‘patient’ for St. Johns Ambulance classes. At the age of 14 he was a qualified first-aider working in the mines of South Wales and later the Welfare Officer for St. Johns in Lancashire and was a judge at competitions. He was honoured by the Queen as Serving Brother and Officer Brother.

At the age of 16 he started his nursing career and qualified in many aspects of nursing, becoming a Health Visitor in Rochdale and eventually Acting Hospital Matron in Blackpool. During the World War II he worked in the RAF Medics. In his seventies he attained his D.D.
Throughout his long and interesting life his main aim was to preach the gospel, which he did faithfully for 77 years.

Could you leave a legacy for future Plain Truth readers?

The Plain Truth – like the majority of charities – is dependant upon the generous donations of its supporters for its very existence. But as well as regular donations in response to our appeals, there is another way in which you can support our work. And that’s through leaving a legacy to The Plain Truth.

If you’d like to know more about leaving a legacy to The Plain Truth, please write requesting our leaflet to:

The Plain Truth - A Magazine of Understanding

Letters to the Editor

Obituary

REV. DR. W. GULLIFORD (BILL):1918 –2009

Could you leave a legacy for future Plain Truth readers?

What do you think?