A tribute to George Wilkinson, died 25th July 2023
One afternoon in June 2020, the four of us gazed across the Calder valley from our rocky vantage point overlooking birch saplings and oak. Would we be finished before the next shower? We’d done well to hold a meeting in the open air, singing to the larks and the thrushes…
-o-O-o-
It all began six years ago after Jane and I, George and Ivy discovered we shared a common interest. Separately, we’d been to a remarkable retreat centre, Ffald-y-Brenin, in South Wales. The story is told by Roy Godwin in his remarkable book The Grace Outpouring. We were excited by the idea of meeting weekly to ‘bless’ our local area and its people, and also our families and friends.
The Pandemic had forced people everywhere to adapt to new ways of meeting. George and Ivy hadn’t mastered life on the internet so we couldn’t use Zoom. In the ‘stay at home’ days, we attempted to meet by talking, praying and even singing down the telephone. Our daughter Helen had lots of fun listening to our efforts, as it was clear we were neither in tune nor in time with each other.
When restrictions slackened, we met by walking outdoors on fine days, as I’ve described above. George and Ivy introduced us to Scammonden Water high above the Ryland valley, and to Wainstalls at the head of Luddenden Dean where Ivy had lived when she was a young mum.
One fine day, we met in our garden, where George and Ivy sat in our Wendy house (pictured, squinting in the sun), whilst we sat outside!
As we came to know George and Ivy, we often marvelled at the many different stages that their lives had passed through; the places they’d lived, the hardships and the good times. The sacrifice and commitment they’d shown in being true to their calling as Christians. Psalm 84 vs 5 described George well:
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
He prayed with passion, sang with gusto, and was always looking to see where God was at work. He was well versed in the Bible, and – for example – introduced us to Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A kingdom of Priests’, which taught us to pray in the light of we ourselves being God’s temple. I always found George a great encourager, urging us on to exercise our faith. I wish I’d known him in his heyday rather than only his final years, when failing strength limited his ability to be out and about. Others will no doubt have much to say about his days with the Maranatha Community, Ellel Grange and the many places where he’d had an influence.
George spoke warmly of his own family. He had a gentle side and sometimes talked about his career in nursing, which was then almost entirely a female profession. He went on to manage a care home, and was able to offer good advice during my mother’s final days in 2021. Our most recent picture, from last Christmas, shows a lighter side of his nature.
As George’s life drew to an end, he had a clear sense of completion. I thought of 2 Timothy 4 vs 7,8a:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.
We were surprised that George passed so quickly, but that’s what he would have wished. We were delighted to hear that he’d slipped peacefully away.
We’ll miss you, George, but we know what a welcome you’ll be enjoying, at home with Jesus whom you’ve served so faithfully.
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