Family Lessons 132: Uncle Tom the Preacher Man

Great Uncle Tom was a preacher. He, my grandfather’s brother, was born in Darwen in 1915 and died there in 1996. He attended one of the town’s Methodist chapels and was counted among their ‘local preachers’, the term which that denomination applies to non-ordained, church members deemed sufficiently competent and spiritual to lead worship and preach the gospel. Although the standard has likely dropped in recent years regarding theology if not delivery, there was a time when, each year, Methodist preachers led thousands to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

There is no recording of his sermons of which I am aware, and my mother's brother who recalled hearing him along with his father, says they were ‘hellfire and damnation’. Then again, he used these very words of Herbert Silverwood, also, so perhaps this was a caricature rather than a lucid memory. An aunt recalls going to visit Uncle Tom and Auntie Elsie, noting that for the hour-long duration of their visit, not a single drink or biscuit was offered. Of course, one cannot base an assessment of a man’s godliness on his propensity to put the kettle on and produce a plate of digestives -or can we? Hospitality is the hallmark of both the Christian leader and the Christian believer. Failure to refresh others’ bodies may suggest a mouldering of one’s own soul. The redeemed sinner delights to bless his neighbours, rejoices in welcoming strangers, and smiles at the opportunities to give to others. The carnal sinner, on the other hand, is miserly, niggardly and tight-fisted, for his possessions are his own, and them he guards, jealously.

What a shame: after thirty years, there is no record of his preaching and teaching, but a dim memory of his sparse hospitality and glum reception. Often, it is not our enlightened beliefs and theological orthodoxy for which we shall be remembered, but our little acts of kindness –or lack thereof.

And the king shall answer, and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me. Matthew 25:40, Geneva Bible

Photo: Lancashire Lives. Uncle Tom was a clogger, rather than a blogger, and he holds aloft a sample of his workmanship.