A Cambridge God Adventure* 71) The jigsaw leaflet (a)

(*please skip if you have not been following this story).  Of all the leaflets and brochures we produced I treasure most the one we called the jigsaw leaflet. It comprises a jigsaw of nine pieces with one left blank.  Each interlocking piece has a face of someone who came into the story of the Stone Yard Centre - often from extraordinary journeys.

Along the top row alongside the obvious faces of Nigel Manges and myself is the face of the Director. Ending 1988 we had no idea who this might be. Advertisements went out early January 1989 with interviews scheduled for February.  Our Monday prayer meetings continued with particular focus on God's right person for this post.

Unknown to any of us in the fellowship Graham Thomson from Exeter was following a parallel path. Having been in business until five years before, he then became Deputy Warden of the Grapevine Family Centre for single parent families for the previous two years, and before that Co-ordinator of the Palace Gate Centre - a community centre attached to South Street Baptist Church, Exeter.  Graham felt called to full-time Christian service and all the steps of applying to Regent's Park College to train for Baptist ministry (and there are many of them) were being taken at the same time as our story unfolded. At the college interviews one of the tutors who knew of our situation suggested that this might be exactly what God was calling him to.  Graham's subsequent 'phone call to me immediately placed him among those short-listed.  And, it proved to be a glorious God-incidence when he emerged as our Director and we prepared to get to know Graham and Val in all the gifting they brought the church.  What a difference they were to make.

The second row had Roy Toseland who had been running the Job Club sine 1987 having previously been a professional football player and in business before training at Romsey House Theological College and coming to us.  The fifth jigsaw piece showed Mandy Dibsdale, our Catering Manageress who had previously been a chef in a local well-known restaurant before beginning to oversee the Stone Yard Restaurant.

Just four more.....