JEFFERD, Laurence Douglas 1900 - 1962

Obituary from the Minutes of the Methodist Conference 1962, page 208

Born in Poplar in 1900. He offered for the Wesleyan Ministry in 1924 and after a year in the South London Mission was trained at Richmond College.

He then served in Canterbury, Dover, Pontefract, Paisley. Bishop Auckland, Barnsley, Doncaster, Leeds, Pudsey, Ipswich and Peterborough.

Ill-health brought about his early retirement in 1959 and he then went to live in the Doncaster District Coalfields Mission Circuit.

He associated himself with the Bentley High Street Church where he had previously been the minister. For a time his serious heart trouble was allayed, and he took part, as far as he was able, in the life of the Church ; but his activity lasted for all too brief a period.

When he could do no more, his friends witnessed the light of Christian faith shining through physical weakness and pain.

He will be remembered for his strong qualities and his constant allegiance to high ideals. Within the embrace of a ministry which served the needs of all he had an especially wise and affectionate concern for children and young people. This was reflected in the offices he held with distinction under the aegis of the Youth Department in Circuit, District and Connexional Committees.

He used his gift of leadership in the building up of the societies under his care, and by his example he showed his people the deeper meaning of discipleship.

He was a faithful pastor and was always careful and thorough in preparing for the pulpit. His wide reading and well-stored mind were used to the full to make his preaching adequate and comprehensive. His love for his Master and his serene faith strengthened the Christian experience of those to whom he ministered, and there are many who thank God for all he meant to them.

He died on 20 February 1962, in the sixty-second year of his age and the thirty-fifth of his ministry.

©Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes 1962

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