Market Harborough Saturday 28th November 2009 2.30PM
Mervyn Ivany, the chairman of Norwich TFG and the blogger travelled to Market Harborough to join over 400 other Torch supporters in a special 50th Anniversary Thanksgiving service held in the town's Leisure Centre on Saturday 28th November 2009.Staff, Trustees, representatives from 40 UK based Fellowship Groups and guests from other countries were identified and welcomed during the Roll Call led by Carol Noakes, one of the Regional Liaison team.
Contributors to the anniversary book "50 Steps Forward" were introduced and the book formally launched simultaneously in braille, giant print,DAISY audio and print. Every day starts with prayer at Torch HQ and the book has been compiled to encourage others to do the same.
Mike Townsend gave a tribute to Stella Heath, the co-founder of the Torch Trust who died recently.
Marilyn Baker introduced and taught us the Torch Family Song which she had been asked to compose especially for the anniversary and everyone joined in the repeat.
The words and music to the song will be published shortly.
Various people were invited onto the stage to talk about different aspects of Torch's activities:
- how the first Torch fellowship group started in a house in Birmingham and how this number has grown to 125 around the country with new locations planned,
- how the lack of accessible Christian material for the visually impaired prompted the Heaths to learn to braille and to start recording Christian books onto tape,
- how the library service has now grown to offer more than 3,500 titles to readers in over 100 countries in several languages (one lady said told that she was so happy to find Christian books when she visited Torch that she sat on the floor in the library and just "devoured" book after book),
- others gave a flavour of the holidays they had enjoyed both at Torch's own Holiday and Retreat Centre and elsewhere and
- Janet Stafford who leads the international ministry talked of how the work of helping to fulfil the practical and spiritual needs of visually impaired in third world countries had led to Torch establishing a production unit to serve Africa in Malawi.
Gordon Temple, the CEO of the Torch Trust, concluded the proceedings by presenting the Torch Trust's ambitions for the future – that no blind or partially sighted person should be denied the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel message, to grow in their faith, or to become a fully valued member of a local church community.
Refreshments were available afterwards and we took the opportunity to visit Torch House, which is nearby, to view the displays of equipment, literature and images like the photo montages of each decade shown above and to meet up with the staff.
We also had some interesting conversations with other Torch volunteers from Birmingham, Nottingham, Northern Ireland and Macedonia.
A recording of the service is available on loan from the Torch Library to registered borrowers.
About 90 people stayed at nearby Hothorpe Hall for a full weekend programme of anniversary events. ‘There was a great sense of reunion throughout the whole weekend,’ said Gordon Temple (pictured above with Mervyn Ivany). ‘People who had been associated with Torch throughout its half century came together to reinvigorate old friendships and make new ones.’
Thanks to Lin Ball of Torch for help in compiling this report
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