Kingston, Hull
On a cold, snowy Sunday morning in February 1969, twenty-five people met in Allison Hall, Hull; and Kingston Reformed Church was born. Some of those made their way back to Hull on 28 February 2009 along with many others, to give thanks to God for 40 years of gospel ministry in the city.
During the meetings, treasurer and early church member Brian Norton gave an overview of the first 20 years, and Brian Broadwell, converted at Kingston and a former deacon, spoke about the years 1989-2009. The church has had four pastors, Terence Aldridge (who recently went to be with the Lord), Michael Buss, Paul Cook and, since 2002, Dennis Hill.
Saturday afternoon’s meeting was divided into two sessions. Rev. Paul Cook preached from Genesis 47:7-10 on Jacob’s words to Pharaoh about the Christian’s spiritual journey. Then Dr Jonathan Bayes, who has close connections with Kingston, preached from Romans 1:5. We have the extraordinary privilege of preaching Christ’s gospel to people from all nations, to bring them into the obedience that is faith.
So, our two preachers exhorted us to see ourselves on a journey to a glorious new world and to urge others to join us! There followed a time of fellowship and reminiscing over a buffet tea.
Both men brought encouragement through their Sunday ministry and we left with fresh inspiration to work on for the next 40 years. As Paul Cook said, ‘We must pray that the next 40 years will absolutely eclipse what we have known in the past’.
Dennis Hill
