Gospel Conviction 1976-1990: Volume 8 of The Story of Christ Church, New Malden
In May 2022, Stephen wrote the eighth volume of his illustrated history of Christ Church. This covered the fourteen years in which John Short was Vicar of the parish from 1976-1990. This was a period of significant growth in the church with a strong emphasis upon proclamation of the gospel through detailed exposition of the Bible. In a time before the ordination of women as priests and its later contentiousness, this era saw a significant advance in women’s ministry at Christ Church through the work of a succession of deaconesses. It was also a period of growth in overseas mission with a number of members of Christ Church and St John’s serving abroad. The most enduring achievement of this time was the building of the Christ Church Centre in 1981 with its lounge, kitchen, orchard and holly rooms provided through extraordinary financial generosity from the church’s members. A difficult and worrying time was the serious illness which removed John Short from Christ Church for six months in 1987/88, and from which he nearly died.