The Firm and Loving Hand of God 1958-1968: Volume 6 of The Story of Christ Church, New Malden
In March 2022, Stephen wrote the sixth volume of his illustrated history of Christ Church. This was a period when the parish was led by the remarkable Llewellyn Roberts. ‘Uncle Llew’, as he was known, was 69 when he arrived in New Malden – older than any other Vicar of the parish has been when they departed. Together with his strictness and speech impediment, Mr Roberts might have made him seem an odd fit to lead the church during the ‘swinging sixties’. Christ Church nonetheless continued to thrive under his leadership alongside a number of able curates and lay leaders. Campaigners began and this was the era in which the Centenary of Christ Church was celebrated in 1966 and marked by the building of the Vestry Hall. The considerable strengths of the Christ Church at this time were nevertheless accompanied by a tendency to emphasis abstract biblical truths rather than attempting the difficult task of applying such truth to a swiftly changing world.