Christian ministers and their love for their communities - Reverend Steve Jones

Reverend Steve Jones of the Mission Community of Exmouth, Littleham and Lympstone (Image: Steve Jones)

In the summer of 2011, I was on holiday in Tennessee, in the USA, when I visited the wonderful city of Chattanooga.

I loved many things about the city, including the fact that, once you had paid to park, travel on the city’s electric buses was completely free.

My favourite thing about Chattanooga, however, was an amazingly cavernous second-hand bookshop that I discovered on Broad Street. As I browsed gallery after gallery of pre-loved books, my eye landed upon a hardcover entitled The Glorious Gospel.

I opened the book to find that it was a passionate and clear explanation of why Christianity is important to many of the world’s people.

The book was published in 1926 and was written by the Reverend Charles C. Carson, the minister of First Presbyterian Church of Bristol, Tennessee. In the front of the book, under a photograph of Rev’d Carson, I noticed that it had been signed by him.

Flicking through the chapters, I found that it was beautifully written, and expressed my own faith very aptly.

About two-thirds the way through the book I found an old letter. It was written by Rev’d Carson on First Presbyterian Church headed notepaper and was dated July 29, 1927.

It was addressed to the Reverend’s Aunt Lou, who lived in the nearby city of Rogersville, Tennessee.

The penny dropped that this was probably a signed copy of his book that the Reverend had given to his aunt, and that upon receiving the letter she had kept it in the book.

It had likely rested there since she inserted it in 1927. In this precious letter Rev’d Carson explains to his aunt how he had been called by the General Presbyterian Assembly to new work across the whole south-eastern region, and that he had to leave his Church.

He explains that the move is difficult for him because of his love for the people. He reflects over how he has shared in their joys and their sorrows. He talks about ‘severance’ from the people, almost as if he were facing a bereavement.

What really struck me was that he writes that it will be difficult for him to leave the ‘people of Bristol’, and not just his congregation.

I was honoured to buy the book with the letter, and the next week I phoned the then current minister of First Presbyterian Church. He shared with me the legend that Charles Carson was among his community, due to his great and evident love of the people.

I understood why the Reverend found it hard to leave Bristol, and what he meant when he wrote about severance.

I have been a minister for four wonderful Christian communities before arriving in Exmouth. I have dearly loved each one of them, and my departures did really feel like bereavements.

When you first become a Minister of the Gospel, as I did in 2001, a special charge is laid upon you. It is the expectation of the Church, speaking for God, that you will love the all people sacrificially and that you will lead and teach them humbly, comforting and supporting those whose strength or courage is faltering, and trying to manifest before them the life of Jesus Christ.

And while there is a specific charge to care for those inside the Church, there is also an expectation on the Christian Minister to act with love toward anyone in need, whoever they are, whatever their background might be, and whether they attend church or not.

I grasped back in 2011 that Reverend Charles C. Carson was not just a loving pastor for the people of First Presbyterian Church, but for all the people of Bristol, Tennessee.

Today, it is my hope to be one of those seeking to love the all the people of Exmouth and its surrounding communities, with that same sense of care and compassion.