"Now we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are reposing, lest you may sorrow according as the rest, also, who have no expectation. For, if we are believing that Jesus died and rose, thus also, those who are put to repose, will God, through Jesus, lead forth together with Him. For this we are saying to you by the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who are surviving to the presence of the Lord, should by no means outstrip those who are put to repose, for the Lord Himself will be descending from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the Chief Messenger, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall be rising first. Thereupon we, the living who are surviving, shall at the same time be snatched away together with them in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we always be together with the Lord. So that, console one another with these words." (I. Thess. 4:13-18).
Dear brethren,
As will be noted in more detail below, in recent weeks, two of our fellowship's profoundly esteemed brethren have departed this life. Many of us will feel their absence practically, spiritually and personally. At such times as these, we are no less immune to grief than the unbeliever who must walk through life without an expectation. But we in this fellowship do have that blessed expectation, highlighted in the scripture above and it literally makes all the difference! Andrew Maclarty and Joan Reece went to repose having lived out the lives ordained for them, down to the last detail and nanosecond, by our loving God. They completed the work God gave them to do. Now in God's keeping, they nevertheless continue to share with us the expectation which they well knew awaited them, a time beyond our comprehension but not our knowledge, when we will always be together with the Lord.
It is with great pleasure and eager anticipation that we can turn our minds to the forthcoming Concordant Bible Society Annual Conference. The conference will again be held at the Thornleigh Hotel, Grange over Sands, Lancashire. Those of you receiving this newsletter by email should find the booking form attached. If it has reached you by snail mail, it should be enclosed. If you haven't been before, or haven't been able to make it for a while, please give some prayerful thought to joining us. We are a small, scattered and ageing fellowship at this point, and it is important to treasure these God-given opportunities to meet together for study and spiritual growth.
Prices: Friday 4th September 2026 - Sunday 6th September, 2026
2 nights £250 per person for the 2 nights stay.
Sunday night of 6th September 2026 stop-over is also available (includes Sunday high tea, bed and full breakfast on 7 September, Monday morning). £320 per person for the three nights stay.
The cost for the basic weekend includes cooked breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea/coffee breaks and use of the meeting room and lounges. We also pay for extra drinks throughout the weekend. In order to keep the conference viable we need as many attendees as possible. If you know anyone who might enjoy a weekend away with you but they are not interested in our understanding, they don't have to attend the meetings unless they want to! The venue is a stylish comfortable small hotel in a lovely position overlooking Morecambe Bay and it is easy to get around to beautiful countryside. Meal times provide opportunity for fellowship outside of the talks!
For details of the Conference venue,
visit the Thornleigh Hotel website or click on this link:
Deadline for payment: 10 July 2026. Thornleigh have tightened up their payment procedures and now require full payment for the weekend to be submitted to them 4 weeks in advance of the event but they want the list of attendees six weeks in advance.
Once the room list is sent to Thornleigh no refunds are offered. It is recommended that you have travel insurance to cover any potential loss.
Once I have sent the room requirements to Thornleigh six weeks in advance they will invoice me for that number of attendees and expect full payment. If you had to cancel before the six week deadline a refund could be made as your money would be in the Society's account but not after that date as Thornleigh will invoice for the room list as submitted. booking. The sooner you book, the easier the admin!
A regular slot at our conferences is the Saturday night question time session. Questions can be submitted right up to and even during the session. If God lays something on your heart between now and then though - or even several things - do act on his leading. Many of you sent questions to me well in advance of conference last year. Panellists will be glad of the time to prep their answers, and all present will benefit.
We mark the passing of two beloved saints:
Joan Reece, Jan's mother and my mother-in-law, went to sleep in the Lord on 22nd March, aged eighty-nine. Joan had been a believer for many decades and radiated a deep, edifying faith. She unstintingly supported her husband, Roy, in his ministry for our fellowship, and for the Blackheath ecclesia.
She was a loving mother to Jan and her sister Katie and enjoyed time with her grandsons. She loved cooking, reading and listening to music. She loved to sing along to a good hymn including her favourite "All the Way My Saviour Leads Me". She followed her Lord faithfully to the end living out the words of the hymn.
On 25th April, God called Andrew Maclarty into repose, at the age of eighty-three. A man of quietude and humility, he led a life of unstinting devotion and witness to our God.
Andrew could witness anywhere. I remember him phoning me from hospital when seriously ill, telling me of opportunities God had given him to discuss the Word with fellow patients! He and Barbara extended warm fellowship in their home to many brethren over the years.
Andrew did have other deep interests: he loved chocolate, poetry and classical music and was a very keen cyclist – he followed the Tour De France and other events avidly, read the cycling press. voraciously and would talk enthusiastically about the latest technical developments in bike design and he loved his personalised Moulton bicycle. Those were his worldly enthusiasms, but his supreme dedication was to our God and his Word.
Andrew's impact on our fellowship cannot be overstated. Many of us in the UK, USA, Germany and the Philippines knew him personally, and many more like-minded believers will have devoured his learning via the pages of Grace amp; Truth, the magazine he edited or many years, following on the work of his great friend John Essex, and which will continue. We will miss the enormous store of knowledge God gifted to our fellowship through Andrew but we will thank our God upon every remembrance of him and we also remember Barbara,David, Stuart and the family in our prayers.
And that's all this time folks. We very much look forward to seeing you at Thornleigh in September. Our conferences are precious things and we are blessed to have had a venue for them for over 50 years.
God bless, Malcolm and Jan.
Contact Details:
Malcolm and Jan Ferries, Flat 5, Redholme Court, Red Hill,
Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 1ND
Landline: 01384 379531 Mobile: 07763187876
Email: sumo@honyaku.co.uk Website: concordantbiblesociety.uk
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