John Edward Cooper’s Notes
Friday 8th April 1966
1966  In the NOTES section is a note for today (and one for the following Monday): The diary-entry proper for today is as follows: Went to Preston Convention—great! Messages [in tongues] and interpretations: The Good Friday meetings were held in a large, classic “shoe-box”-shaped hall, with a raised stage at the forward end, and a balcony running round, left, rear centre, and right. Mrs. Wood, Audrey and I sat on the balcony, to the left, about half-way along, on this, the first Preston Convention that I went to, with the bulk of the congregation in the main floor-area below. This was a time when spiritual things were still new and wonderful to me. Not recorded here, is a phenomenon that occurred, which left me stunned and amazed. Mrs. Wood told me afterwards that it was “singing in the Spirit”, with some people singing in tongues on a sustained note and others singing harmonies or a succession of notes in harmony, with the sound swelling and rippling like waves. It felt like I was in heaven. Never have I seen such anointed preaching—[the] theme was constant, that we must yield our bodies to Christ: I particularly remember Gerald Chamberlain making his impassioned appeal from Romans 12:1, 2 for us to do this: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” I remember his emphasising that to do this was our “reasonable service”. That is the KJV rendering of the passage. A note elsewhere in the diary indicates that while I was Preston Convention I learnt that Ann Fenton “doesn’t go to church any more.” Ann Fenton: See Johannine Writings XI.6, Holiday in Scarborough — Day One, Holiday in Scarborough — Day Six, Holiday in Scarborough — Day Seven, Holiday in Scarborough — Day Eight, The Free Trade Hall, Friday 7th January 1966. Chris wrote me a letter today (Good Friday), postmarked GRIMSBY & CLEETHORPES, LINCS 12.45 PM 9 APR 1966 and with the slogan MARINELAND & ZOO I got my receipt from Clacton: See Sunday 23rd January 1966 for more information. |
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