Rank & File

When reading the various Blog items, and some on the Canadian SA Website, I noticed a few things that I thought were peculiar to the UKT, but now I see they were part of the USA setup too.

Sides.
A lady on the Canadian website said how amazed she was to arrive a the Training College and find that in “Chapel” to you, they sat in 3 distinct Sections – men one side, women the other, & marrieds in the middle. It was the same in our Assembly Hall. We also had one Dining Hall for marrieds, and one for Singles, in our 1st. Year. In 2nd. Year (1979-80) we modernised, and the concept of “sides” was abolished. We still continued to live in Sides though. The main Quad at Denmark Hill naturally separates the College campus, and it was still men on one quad, women on the other, and the marrieds split across the houses on both Sides.

Caps.
A recent contributor said how someone would ring the DC with a Report if he didn’t wear his cap. When we were in training, someone in the houses behind the College used to watch as we drove out of the back gate on our various Training Assignments, and if the men weren’t wearing their caps, he used to ring the Training Principal. The TP told the men “for goodness’ sake keep your caps on in the car until you get to the end of the road!” because he was tired of all the phone calls!

Rank Order round the meal table.
In an earlier item, a former Officer said how, in the Social Services Centre, they sat round the table in Rank order, from the Major in charge downwards. When I was a Candidate, I spent 2 weeks at a Community Home for girls. (It’s now a centre where Missionary Officers on furlough stay, if they have nowhere to stay in the UK when they come home.) Major was at the head, Captains on either side, Lieutenants lower down, then part-time staff, then the Gardener, then me, as I was just “Miss”, and temporary.

As a coincidence, the Gardener was in our Training Session, though neither of us knew then whether or when we would be going into Training. Also, when we moved to our present hometown, that person, who is also a “Former”, had been working here until just before we came here – I saw his name, & address as the YMCA, in a book in a 2nd. hand bookshop. We contacted the YMCA & explained he was a friend of ours, to ask if they could tell us where he went, but sadly – understandably I suppose – they said they couldn’t. He’s one of the few members of our Session for whom nobody has any contact details. If he reads this, it would be great if he’d get in touch with someone in the Session. In those days, we lived alphabetically in our houses too, and he had the room in between John and Bo. (“Singles” still had just one single room in those days, plus one for a Study if there were enough.)

On another subject, I saw Jesus as I arrived at work today! Our Office is next door to an old Church which has lovely stained glass windows. As the sun rises over the Church, and moves round it, it shines through the windows and clearly emphasises different Saints, Biblical figures, etc., at certain times. As I walked through the door this morning, it was shining right through just the one part of one window which is a depiction of Jesus. It was really beautiful. When I came through the door again a bit later, the sun had moved on.

I’m sure we can all spiritualise on that, in whatever way fits our current situation!

Margaret Day
“Proclaimer of Salvation”
UK