Hi, I'm Ruth and this is my page.
I was born in Liverpool down
by the docks, in the Dingle, the third child of Christian
parents, a surprise I think, as my sister was 16 when I was born
and my brother was 13. However, we all survived the shock! Here
is a photo of me taken with my family when I was about 5.
My church background is varied. My paternal grandfather
preached in his lunch hour on the docks. My father preached in
the Liverpool City Mission, which he attended and I went with him
to the children's meeting on a Sunday morning. On Sunday
afternoons I went with my sister to Sunday School at a Methodist
Mission and on Sunday evenings I went with my mum to the local
Congregational Church where she sang in the choir. My parents
also used to sing duets together with my mum playing the piano.
At some point in their married lives my parents attended the
Salvation Army, maybe that's why playing the tambourine came
naturally to me. Although now scorned by some members of the
younger generation, I still believe the tambourine is a Biblical
instrument and has a part to play in praise, spiritual warfare
and intercession. In their later years my parents attended a
Methodist church together and my dad was a local preacher. As
well as the churches mentioned above, we were married in an FIEC
church in Liverpool and I have been involved in an Elim church, a
Baptist, two different house fellowships, an Anglican church,
Vineyard and now Pioneer People. They all have their good and bad
points, so I align myself with Jesus and just say I'm a Christian.
For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed singing,
listening to music
and reading books.
I sing mainly worship songs and folk songs, with some sixties songs and hymns thrown in for good measure. I play an autoharp (otherwise known as an idiot zither!) though not like Maybelle Carter, I get by and that's all. Currently my husband and I attend Pioneer People Wirral where I occasionally lead worship. I also use my worship skills to present programmes on Flame FM on Wirral when it is on-air.
My first LP (that shows my age!) was 'Blue Hawaii' by Elvis Presley, the next couple were 'Bob Dylan' and 'With the Beatles'. I enjoyed the early Rolling Stones, the Animals, Manfred Mann, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Swingin' Blue Jeans, Billy J Kramer, Georgie Fame, The Band, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas, The Byrds and lots of folk artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, Phil Ochs, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Peter, Paul and Mary, Buffy St Marie. I was also into the contemporary English folk scene - locally that was The Spinners, Jacqui and Bridie, Pete McGovern, The Bothy Folk, The Scaffold plus nationally - Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Fotheringay, Julie Felix, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, Ralph McTell, The Dubliners, Fairport Convention, Dave and Toni Arthur etc. Along the way I added Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, Simon and Garfunkel, John Denver, Paul McCartney, Elton John, U2, Dire Straits, Clannad, Enya, Runrig .......
Christian wise it was The Joystrings, the Witnesses, The Fisherfolk, Larry Norman, Jimmy and Carol Owens (remember Come Together?!), Cloud, Parchment, Graham Kendrick, John Wimber, Danny Daniels, Glen Kaiser, Noel Richards, Dave Bilbrough, Chris Bowater, Sue Rinaldi, Ishmael, Dave Clifton, Andy Piercy, Charlie Groves, Stuart Townend, Chris Falson and so on. Now I also enjoy Iona, Matt Redman, Delirious?, Robin Mark, Brian Houston, Rita Springer, Kate Miner, Paul Oakley, Sammy Horner and The Electrics, The Crossing, Ian White, The Choir, Third Day, David Ruis, Kevin Prosch, Michelle Tumes, Don Potter, Maire Brennan, Caedmon's Call, City on a Hill, Sixpence non the Richer, ....... My current favourite Christian singer/songwriter is Godfrey Birtill.
I read anything from the classics to fantasy as well as Christian stuff. I began as a child with Enid Blyton then progressed to Louisa M. Alcott, Jane Austen, Tolkien, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, John le Carre, Ellis Peters, Dorothy Dunnett, Rosamund Pilcher and many others. I read John McCarthy, Brian Keenan and Terry Waites' accounts of their incarceration, I enjoy biographies and autobiographies, Bill Bryson, John Grisham and anything else I can beg, buy or borrow! In the Christian sector - The Bible, C.S Lewis, David Wilkerson, Watchman Nee, John Wimber, Frank Peretti, Stephen Lawhead, Hannah Hurnard, Tommy Tenney, Rick Joyner, Bodie Thoene, the 'Left Behind' series and many more including various biographies and autobiographies.
I am very interested in Celtic Christianity and art. I have
visited the island of Iona
on
a day trip, I would love to go again for longer and in 2006 I got
to visit Lindisfarne.
Since a child I have been
interested in the nation of Israel and our Jewish roots. We were
fortunate to visit Israel for our 25th Wedding Anniversary and
would love to go back again.
I collect thimbles as a souvenir of places we, or friends and family have visited, or just because they catch my eye. I currently have nearly 600. (I never have time to count them!).
I have recently retired from my job as a Special Needs Classroom Assistant in a mainstream Junior school. I completed the NNEB course as a mature student in 1991. Before that my career was being a housewife and bringing up the children, which I really enjoyed. I helped on a voluntary basis at the childrens various playgroups and schools. Until April 2007 I used to child mind three of my grandsons in Leeds two days a week, but now I am spending my time doing voluntary work for church, cwm, Flame FM on Wirral and half a day a week in our church shop 'Azrou' in West Kirby. I try to reserve Fridays for taking part in one of my favourite pastimes of Hillwalking.
I support Liverpool, as does my daughter and youngest son. My husband, elder son and son-in-law support Everton. Neither of my daughters-in-law are into football. So it's 3-3.
I met Clive at the Maranatha Christian coffee bar on The Boulevard, Princes Park in 1965. I was a helper, serving on the tables and Clive came with his church youth group and pastor to 'officially open' the coffee bar. 39 years later we are still together. We moved down south when we got married and lived in the south for 19 years. We made some good friends there and were involved in a house fellowship during the move of the Holy Spirit in the late 60's, early 70's, exciting times. 'Heavy shepherding' heralded the end of that particular move of the Spirit and when we moved back to the northwest in 1987 we got involved with the local Anglican church for 10 years. After a year's sabbatical we moved to South Liverpool Vineyard, where we made some very dear friends, but with my job and visiting my grandchildren, the travelling was becoming very tiring and God has called me back to the Wirral to worship. Since January 2004 we have been worshipping at Pioneer People, Wirral and we feel very much at home there and have made many new friends.
I love living on the Wirral (when I was small I never dreamt I would ever live 'over the water'); it's close to the sea, North Wales, Liverpool, Chester and near enough to the Lakes, the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales for day visits. I enjoy walking in the hills, away from the busyness and pressures of modern life, enjoying God's creation and the sights and sounds of the countryside.
I finally visited the USA for the first time in the summer of 2002 on a whistle stop tour of Yosemite, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon etc. The most memorable highlights were the helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, sleeping under the stars in Monument Valley and seeing the sunrise over the Totem Pole and the sunset over Delicate Arch. I would love to visit South America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa but we have no relatives or friends in those places so there is no way we can make it. Still, there's the hope that some time in the future?!
Please email me if you have any comments or if you feel we have similar interests in common and would like to chat.
