It was such a great introduction for me to life and ministry in Surbiton where I have met a whole bunch of amazing people who love Jesus and want to serve him until the end of their lives.  I am very thankful to God for the Beryl, I met that day, and who then read the lesson in church on her last Sunday, as she always liked to do, reading with passion and meaning and conviction, as someone who believed and trusted in God’s Word, and wanted to share it with others.  

I was glad to spend more time with Beryl on two further occasions as she returned home for the summer, and to stay connected online, until the last year or so as her frailty made communication more difficult.  I’m pleased that I had the privilege of knowing her personally for a short time, but I’m glad that I have been able to speak to or receive input from others who have known Beryl for much longer than me – from Andrew, whose mother was Beryl’s cousin, from friends from teenage years like Margaret Ellis and her daughter Karen, from WEC missionary colleagues and friends, and those here at Christ Church who knew her across the years, and I’ve had information from the Surbiton High School alumni group, with whom Beryl stayed in contact over many years.  So let me share something of what I’ve discovered – there’ll be lots more that you might want to share over refreshments at the end of the service.

Beryl Birchmore was born in 1932, she grew up in South London and later moved to Surbiton.  Her father, Jimmy, was popular and outgoing, her mother more reserved.  Beryl suffered the deep sadness in early life, of her father dying tragically in an accident and losing a good friend whose house was destroyed by a bomb during WW2.  Beryl’s mother suffered with her mental health after being widowed, and cut herself off from the extended family, but Beryl found ways to keep in touch over the years.

Beryl was clearly bright and intelligent, because in 1943 she won a scholarship to Surbiton High School, staying on in the sixth form to study Maths and Latin.  She absolutely loved the school – staying in touch over the years and was so delighted when my Debbie became the school counsellor there soon after we arrived – at the 140th anniversary of the school, in 20 she wrote –

“I am glad to send birthday greetings to SHS. I was there from 1943 till 1949 and loved my time there. In fact, once I woke up with a sore throat. I phoned school to say I would be coming late, but the doctor told me I was to go to bed and stay there. I confess I cried, so sad that I could not go to my beloved SHS.”

It was at Surbiton High that she met the daughter of Christ Church churchwarden, Margaret Spratley, who invited her along to church with her.  And when she was 17, she met her long term friend Margaret Ellis, who on arriving in Surbiton from Yorkshire as a teenager was introduced to Beryl and quickly struck up a lasting friendship.  She shared the memory of Saturday afternoons, when they would cycle to the old peoples home in Ditton Hill to help with an evangelistic service, where Beryl would play the piano and they would sing together.  And attending the Thursday night prayer meeting at CC, where Beryl again would play the piano.

Beryl was passionate about teaching, and so she left for Weymouth College in 1951 and trained to be a Maths teacher.

  She returned to Surbiton, and for 5 years taught Maths and Scripture at a secondary modern school on the St Helier Estate in Morden.  It was quite a tough school and behaviour was challenging, and it reached a point where Beryl decided that she would begin her Scripture lessons with prayer.  Apparently this completely changed the situation, and the children became open and responsive during those lessons and she could see them developing a love for the Bible.

Beryl began to feel a call to the mission field, and so decided to go to Bible College – attending the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow

– I remember her describing that time as one of learning God’s provision and deep dependence on him, as they were sent out in teams to do ministry without any resources, and simply depending on the Lord’s provision – which was experienced in often extraordinary ways.  Her friend Margaret remembers Beryl coming back from Scotland with a Scottish accent!  She was obviously a woman who entered into anothers culture very well.

It was in Glasgow that she met others from WEC, and she was invited to teach the children of missionaries in French speaking Senegal, mostly of primary school age.  She didn’t speak French and was trained to teach secondary school children, but she was obedient to God’s call, and so got on the boat for the long journey to West Africa – to the “bulge” as she would describe it to the children of Christ Church when she would return on furlough.  

Beryl arrived in Ziguinchor in the South of Senegal to teach in the Mission School – being a special blessing to the McIndoe and Williamson families who were the first WEC missionaries in the late 1940s.  Ian Williamson was one of her first pupils, who with his wife also served as missionaries in Senegal, and now his son is serving with his family in mission in Senegal.  It’s a wonderful legacy, and Beryl played a small part as teacher, and being very involved working with the young people in the local church.

In 1971, Beryl left WEC to go and teach in a local Senegal School.  Although she left WEC she remained fully supportive and kept in touch with many of her students who she’d taught at the mission school.  However her call was to the Senegalese people, and so she taught their children for many years, and embedded herself into their culture.  Some of you may not know that Beryl married in 1978.  Sadly she was let down badly and the marriage did not last, but it did not stop her desire to serve the Lord, and she fittingly retained her Senegalese surname Ba, and was deeply loved by her Senegalese friends and pastors, who looked after and cared for her, especially in these last couple of years.

In life, beyond teaching, the two key ministries that Beryl was involved with was the Scripture Calendars and the Berachah Guest House in Dakar for pastors and missionaries.  As her friend Margaret wrote, “Berachah is the Hebrew word for blessing, and it was a fitting name for Beryl’s guest house: a place where people were welcomed, refreshed and spiritually blessed as they passed through Dakar.”   The Scripture Calendars, known as La Bonne Semence – or the good seed, were a tool that Beryl used to reach out to other school teachers, office workers and government officials.  Here was an opportunity to share God’s Word in a creative way in a Muslim country – and Beryl persevered in it – taking orders, importing the calendars, dealing with the money – there was often delays and difficulties and concerns over the finances which weighed upon her, but she persevered and continued in this into her 90th year – even travelling down to Ziguinchor by boat sometimes in stormy weather – and on her final visit she was thrown across the cabin in a storm, injuring her shoulder, arm and hand which never really recovered, but as Margaret writes, “Yet even this did not diminish her determination.  She always gave her absolute utmost in serving the Lord.”  I remember her concern about that ministry when we first met – could it carry on without her knowledge of people and places, and then later her joy and contentment that local Senegalese Christians had agreed to take on the mantel and continue the work.

Beryl went on the boat, but there was plenty of support from back in Surbiton, with her friend Margaret, trained as a primary school teacher, sending lesson plans in the post to Beryl, and the monthly “WEC Prayer Battery” standing behind Beryl in prayer in the early years.  Mission is always two ways, and though she went to serve the Senegalese people, so when she returned on furlough, and in later years for a couple of months each summer, she brought back rich blessings to us here in Surbiton and across the country as she visited friends in Scotland, Hastings and Devon, including her distant cousin Dolly in Jersey. 

Andrew, Beryl’s nephew wrote:

“We always met up and visited my brother, Matthew, who has learning difficulties and lives in supported living in Horley. He was always pleased to see her and we had nice trips to Windsor, Runnymede, Polesdon Lacey and various other places. Beryl made friends with two of his carers and often chatted to them in Wolof, as they came from that part of Africa. We visited my uncle Ron in a nursing home just before he died, leaving Beryl as the last of that generation.  She was a warm and wonderful companion and I very much enjoyed our trips and her company.”

It was on those visits home that Beryl would encourage the church here – she would visit Open Door at Christ Church, and Oasis at Emmanuel – would share her passion for Senegal and for seeing the Lord at work, with anyone who would like to listen.  Karen Ellis, who remembers as a little girl often bumping into Beryl in Kings Drive when she was home on furlough, and stopping for a chat with a “real life missionary; a friendship of mutual encouragement across the years.

Beryl’s life touched all of ours in different ways – there is sadness and thanksgiving in both Surbiton and Senegal; there will be fruit and legacy from her life in both Senegal and in Surbiton.  Bery was a saint in the Biblical understanding of being made holy and set apart for God and his purposes; clearly she was not a saint in the perfection way that the word is sometimes used.  Like us all she was a sinner, she was incredibly determined, which can be a great strength, sometimes stubborn which is not.  She was strong and clear speaking which is a great strength, but could be blunt and outspoken which is often not.  We are so thankful to God for Beryl’s life, but we are even more thankful to God for her Saviour, Jesus.  She would have been the first to admit that she was a sinner in need of a Saviour; loved by God, saved by grace, and created in Christ to do the good works that God had prepared in advance for her to do.

Beryl lived a long life, she persevered in ministry, and she made it to the end – there were ups and downs and twists and turns in her journey; many many lives were touched and blessed along the way – and she made it to the finish line.  With the Apostle Paul she could say I have fought the good fight, I have run the race, I have kept the faith, and she has now received the crown of glory in the very presence of Jesus.

We’re going to have a few minutes now to remember and give thanks to God for Beryl.  Elaine is going to sing, and you might want to bring to mind a particular memory or image of Beryl that you have, or focus on this wonderful truth, that it is God who held Beryl, and holds each one of us fast in his loving hand.

Song: He has held me fast