15/06/2024
This afternoon I will be attending the Memorial Service for a dear friend, Christopher Janes. It is now many weeks since Chris moved home from Manor Farm, West Haddon to an even better place that Jesus had prepared for him. I think it must have been in the seventies when we first got to know one another. He became an ardent member of the Rural Evangelism Network when it was set up in 1982. Chris represented the Agricultural Christian Fellowship and we worked together in producing 'Country Way' magazine and in the 'Churches Rural Group' (part of CTE) for many years, part of which time I was privileged to be Chairman.
On many occasions I provided transport from his home to the Arthur Rank Centre in Warwickshire. On returning home I would spend a while with him and his wife, Ita, in their kitchen over a cup of tea. While farming was his life, he had a heart for encouraging others to trust in God and, on more than one occasion, told me that he longed that the Agricultural Christian Fellowship would have a more evangelistic edge.
I think that it is right to say that Christopher was the prime mover in setting up the Farm Crisis Network at a time when so many farmers were in crisis and committing su***de. It is true that this man has left a mark in rural Christian witrenss and mission. I expect to be one among many others this afternoon giving thanks for his life.
Christopher made a difference and that is something all of us could do. No one is irrelevant. Anyone offering their life to God and seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit can help to make a better world. Christopher has gone; who will step in to fill the gap?
