Who Do We Think We Are?
New Road Baptist Church, Oxford
Anniversary Service 2012
Wheeler Robinson Hymn
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Hymn #717 ‘O Thou Whose Love Has Brought Us Here’
This hymn was written by Henry Wheeler Robinson, a
distinguished Old Testament scholar who was Principal of
Regent’s Park College from 1920-1942. Wheeler Robinson
believed that Oxford was a more congenial setting than
London for a college. This belief, coupled with the lure of the
advantages of the tutorial system and the fact that the Baptist
Church remained the only Free Church denomination without
a college in one of the ancient universities, led Wheeler
Robinson to decide to relocate the college to Oxford. Wheeler
Robinson was not generally known as a hymn writer, but this
was hymn was found in leaflet form among his papers having
been used at a New Year service at his church in Coventry.
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A 17th Century Reflection
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A 17th Century Reflection
King James II is on the throne, but his short reign
was a troubled one from the outset. James’s desire
to promote his Catholicism was deeply resented by
the population at large. In Oxford James had
antagonized the University by effectively taking
over Magdalen College and attempting to turn it
into a Catholic seminary. Things were tense in
Oxford.
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Richard Tidmarsh’s letter of
20 December 1687
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A 17th Century Reflection
On this day Richard Tidmarsh, the pastor of the Baptist church in
Oxford for over 30 years, wrote a letter to the leaders of Broadmead
Baptist church in Bristol. In it he revealed that he was considering a
move away from Oxford. Several reasons were given for such a move:
A business arrangement with his son in Oxford had gone sour and he
was in financial difficulties, he felt that he was getting older and finding
himself less able than previously to handle the burdens of his church
ministry, which included three demanding sermons per week (lines 2730). Perhaps most importantly, he says that he was being pressured to
take on some civic responsibilities in Oxford which he felt would hurt
him rather than help him in his ministry (30-33). Tidmarsh had a long
history of controversial engagement with Oxford politics, which all came
to a head when he became a political pawn in James II’s struggle to
maintain political control. Thus, Tidmarsh’s reading of the situation at
the time of his writing this letter was insightful and a crucial step was
taken exactly one month later.
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The Election in the Oxford Guildhall
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A 17th Century Reflection
On 20 January 1688 the king removed a number of Oxford
City Councilmen from office and replaced them in a rigged
election with what he felt were more acceptable candidates,
namely dissenters (including Tidmarsh) who represented a
challenge to the Anglican establishment which was so opposed
to James II’s Catholicism. Thus Tidmarsh was caught up in
the power politics of the day, which probably marred the final
phase of his ministry in Oxford. By 1691 he had moved to
Tiverton in Devon and was pastor of the Baptist church there.
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John Bunyan Hymn
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Hymn #561 ‘Who Would True Valour See’
This hymn was written by the famous writer John Bunyan,
perhaps best known for his classic Pilgrim’s Progress (1658).
He was for many years the pastor of an Independent-Baptist
church in Bedford. He was in favour of congregational hymn
singing in the days when it was still unusual and unpopular.
There was a split in Bunyan’s own church over the issue
which was not settled until after his death in 1688. It was
agreed as a compromise to introduce a hymn on the
understanding that those conscientiously opposed could
remain silent or wait in the vestibule until the singing was
finished.
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An 18th Century Reflection
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An 18th Century Reflection
The Date: Thursday, 16 November 1780
On this day the Reverend Daniel Turner of Abingdon preached a sermon
in Oxford at a service designed to celebrate the re-establishment of a
Protestant Dissenting congregation in the city. Turner published this
pamphlet entitled Charity The Bond of Perfection in December of 1780
to commemorate the occasion and explain the reason why it was so
significant. The Baptist cause in Oxford had fallen on hard times in the
mid 1700s, and there had not been regular services for a number of years.
In fact, the beleaguered remnant had not been able to share a
Communion Service together sine 1764. Numbers dwindled and
finances were at rock bottom. However by 1780 a resurgence of interest
took place among a small mixed group, some with Baptist views and
some with Presbyterian views. A number of local ministers, including
Turner, were called to gather in Oxford to formalize the re-establishment
of a church in Oxford. It was a bold, visionary step to take.
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Church Covenant
of 1780
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An 18th Century Reflection
At the end of Turner’s published pamphlet was a copy of the Church
covenant agreed by the members of the Oxford congregation. This was
the original covenant, and it has become our custom as a church since
then to read this covenant as part of our church anniversary services.
This is a solemn reminder of that common bond of charity and mutual
support and understanding which brought our forebears in the faith
together all those years ago. So hear once again these words. Be
challenged and humbled by them. And exult in the sheer audacity they
express, a confidence in the God who loves us and brings us together as
his people.
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Anne Steele Hymn
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Hymn #423 ‘The Savior Calls’
The hymn is written by one of the most important and
influential Baptist Hymn writers of all times, Anne
Steele (1717-1778). She was born in Broughton in
Hants, where she also died and is buried.
Unfortunately, no painting or picture of her has
survived, but we see here a photograph of her grave.
Most of her poems and hymns were published in a
large 3-volume work, published, as it happens, in 1780
– the very same year that our Church Covenant was
agreed.
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A 19th Century Reflection
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A 19th Century Reflection
The Date: 1 April 1840
The nation was deeply divided over the question of slavery,
and Christians agonized over what their response should be to
calls for abolition. In the devastating slave rebellion in
Jamaica in 1831-32 tempers flared as fortunes were lost and
hundreds of sugar plantations burned to the ground. Britain’s
most productive West Indies colony lay in ruins. One of the
Baptist Missionary society missionaries to Jamaica returned to
England and worked tirelessly for the abolitionist cause,
travelling up and down the country and speaking in churches,
halls and at public meetings.
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Church Minutes of 1 April 1840
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A 19th Century Reflection
The pastor of New Road Baptist church at this time was
Benjamin Godwin, and he also was an outspoken critic of
slavery, and delivered an influential paper which proclaimed
the essential sinfulness of slavery and its direct opposition to
the precepts and spirit of Christianity. On 1 April 1840 the
members of New Road held a church meeting at which it was
agreed that ‘Mr Godwin and Mr Bartlett be appointed as
delegates to represent this church and congregation at the
approaching Anti-Slavery Convention’.
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Anti-Slavery Meeting of 1840
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A 19th Century Reflection
This is a famous painting of that Anti-Slavery Convention
painted by Benjamin Robert Haydon in 1841. It hangs in the
National Portrait gallery in London. In it we see the delegates
meeting in Exeter Hall in the Strand; there were officially 409
delegates to the Convention which began on 12 June and
lasted for nine days. They are being addressed by Thomas
Clarkson, the well-known associate of William Wilberforce.
Benjamin Goodwin is depicted just below Clarkson’s raised
arm.
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Benjamin Godwin
at the
Anti-Slavery
Meeting of 1840
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A 19th Century Reflection
Godwin also published about 40 books and pamphlets
including his Lectures on Slavery, which is still in
print today.
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Edmund Budry
George F Handel
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Hymn #164 ‘Thine Be The Glory’
The words to this hymn were originally in French and were
written by the Rev. Edmond Budry, a Swiss Reformed pastor,
in 1884. They were translated into English by Richard Birch
Hoyle in 1923. Hoyle was a student at Regent’s Park College
and had several pastorates concluding with a ministry at
Kingston-upon-Thames. Toward the end of his life he became
deaf, which greatly hindered his pastoral ministry. He died in
1939.
The music for the hymn is well known, and was first set to the
song "See the conquering Hero comes" from Georg Friedrich
Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabaeus (1746).
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A 20th Century Reflection
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A 20th Century Reflection
The Date: 7 August 1940
Europe is once again plunged into war and Britain is forced to
face the onslaught of a sustained bombing campaign by the
German Luftwaffe. Over the summer German planes
concentrate on RAF bases and other military targets such as
radar towers, but everyone knows that soon the London blitz
will start in earnest. The fate of the nation hangs in the
balance, and everyone struggles to find what their role is to be.
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Church Minutes of 7 August 1940
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A 20th Century Reflection
On Wednesday 7 August 1940 a church meeting was held at which 50
members were present; the pastor Harry White presided over the
meeting. Reverend White then expressed the sympathy of the church at
the son of Mr Drew who was in the RAF and had been reported missing
in action. The church meeting was then rocked to hear their pastor
confirm what for many was the news they feared most. Pastor White
gave a full statement oh his calling up as Chaplain to the RAF intimating
that he would be leaving Oxford on August 15, just eight days time. He
stated his definite desire to keep in touch with the church during his
absence and to come backing due course. It was proposed at the meeting
that the church release him for the duration of the war to enable himto
take up this chaplaincy. This proposal was carried unanimously. In the
end Harry White was stationed in Canada with the RAF.
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Air Raid procedures are discussed by the
Deacons (2 October 1940)
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A 20th Century Reflection
Meanwhile the London blitz began in earnest on 7 September and carried
on for months. Although Oxford was relatively safe, being further away
from German air bases on the continent, the threat from air raids was still
a real one. On 2 October 1940 the deacons met to discuss the procedures
to be adopted in case of an air raid during a church service. It was
agreed that in the event of an air raid warning being sounded during any
service or meeting held on the premises then the officiating minister or
anyone in charge of the meeting will close as soon as possible and the
congregation or other gathering will leave the premises & take cover in
the Public Shelters in the vicinity which are provided for their protection.
The nearest shelters are situated just opposite the front gates of the
chapel & next door to the Schoolroom entrance in New Inn Hall Street.
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Ernest Payne
Hymn
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Hymn #362 ‘Our Father God Thy Name We Praise’
This hymn is from an old Anabaptist collection known as the
Ausbund, which was the First Free Church Hymnal. The
hymnal had as its core some fifty hymns which were used by a
group of imprisoned Anabaptists in the sixteenth century. It
was translated by Ernest Payne, who was a member of New
Road Baptist church until his death in 1980. Ernie Payne was
a senior statesman in the Baptist world, serving as General
Secretary of the Baptist Union from 1951-67. He was also a
active within the Baptist Missionary Society, and was a tutor
at Regent’s Park College from 1940-1951.
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A 21st Century Reflection
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A 21st Century Reflection
The Date: 15 June 2008
In March of 2003 hostilities again broke out in the Middle East as a UN
coalition force invaded Iraq and sought to bring peace to the troubled
region by means of military force. A number of concerned people found
themselves objecting to this military venture and formed a pressure
group one of whose aims was to erect a public Peace Plaque in the centre
of Oxford. The message of the proposed Plaque is shaped through
Quaker eyes and experience, whose witness to peace empowers much of
the anti-war movement in Britain. The site chosen for the plaque is in
Bonn Square, the busiest part of the city, where hundreds wait for an
board buses every day. It is also a place where peace vigils have been
regularly held over the year. The permission of Oxford City Council was
sought and they agreed to the proposal.
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Hymn
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A 21st Century Reflection
On 15 June 2008 the Church meeting also gave its
approval for the Peace Plaque to be set in the wall on
their property adjacent to the church building. It
reads: ‘PEACE. [ in English, Arabic, Hebrew and
Sanskrit] TO HONOUR THOSE WHO SEEK
ANOTHER PATH IN PLACE OF VIOLENCE AND
WAR’.
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Hymn
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A 21st Century Reflection
The Peace Plaque was unveiled by Veteran peace campaigner Bruce
Kent on UN Peace Day, 21 September 2010. David Partridge, an interfaith worker in Oxford and retired priest, said the plaque had been a long
time in the planning.
Mr Partridge said: “The idea started back in 2003 after the invasion of
Iraq, when lots of people around Oxford in small groups protested
against the war. “We wanted to commemorate that and show people
there is another way.” Mr Partridge hoped the plaque would stay there to
promote peace for a long time. He said: “It is amazing and I can’t
believe it actually happened – it needs to weather quite a bit but I hope
people will be reading the message in years to come.”
The Peace Plaque is a visual symbol, and potent reminder, of our
commitment at New Road Baptist Church to proclaim Peace to the city
of Oxford.
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Debbie
Rooke
Hymn
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Debbie Rooke’s Hymn ‘On This Day of Celebration’
Our concluding hymn was written by our very own
Church Secretary Debbie Rooke. The hymn was part
of the celebrations which took place as the church
celebrated its 350th Anniversary in 2003, the very
same time that proposals were made for the Peace
Plaque. The celebrations included an exhibition at the
Museum of Oxford under the title ‘Dissenting Voices:
The Story of Baptists in Oxford 1653-2003’.
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