A Norwich church minister has recently re-discovered a picture he drew almost 70 years ago of The Wondrous Cross, which hung in two churches in Hampshire for many years.
Dr Alan Clifford, aged 79, is now Pastor of Norwich Reformed Church. Born in 1941, he was brought up attending the Primitive Methodist chapel in Farnborough.
“Sadly, my father was an atheist, but my dear mother took me and my two sisters to the services,” he said. “I will always thank God for the early grounding in the Christian faith by faithful Sunday school teachers. Only today, I have rediscovered a painting I did of the Crucifixion at the age of 10 or 11. It first hung in the old chapel, then in the new one. It was passed on to my late elder sister Sylvia by Mrs Miles, a former member of the church.
“My sister Sylvia was married to David Clive Philips at North Camp Methodist Church in 1961. For me, a period of teen-rebellion ended with an evangelical conversion through the Church of the Good Shepherd in May 1958. I was confirmed at the Old Parish Church in 1959 in the days of dear Canon Ben Hutchinson,” said Alan.
“Since embracing the insights of the Puritans in 1962, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since those days, but I thank God for the grounding of those early years. To cut a long story very short, I am now nearly 80, and continuing to serve the Lord Jesus as the Pastor of Norwich Reformed Church.”
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Pictured top is The Wondrous Cross – a picture drawn by Alan Clifford as an 11-year-old child.
Keith Morris, 01/04/2021
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