Dr. Paul Brand was best known for his medical labours among lepers in India. His work was immortalised in the popular book 'Ten Fingers for God' by Dorothy Clarke Wilson. He died in July, though his obituary did not appear in The Daily Telegraph until September.
He was the son of missionary parents in India. When I saw the notice of Dr. Brand's passing I took a special interest because his father, Jesse Brand, was sent out to India as a missionary from our own congregation way back in 1907. In fact, his grandfather, Henry, besides being an alderman of Guildford, was also a deacon of our church. Jesse was noted for his evangelistic zeal. With others he had begun a tract society in the town and it is interesting to read some of its records. The members distributed Christian tracts to houses, on public transport and in the public parks. During 1905-6, nearly 19,000 tracts were given out. One entry in the records reads: 'Dogs were a menace. But two women went to a house with a tract in one hand and a bone for the dog in the other!'
Kolli Hills
Jesse's evangelistic zeal led to a call to foreign missions. His commissioning meeting at the Old Baptist Chapel in Guildford was on Wednesday, November 27 1907, 'previous to his sailing in the P & O Steamship Persia' two days later. Paul Wilson Brand was born on July 17 1914, the son of Jesse Brand and his wife Evelyn. The family served with the Strict Baptist Mission and were located in the Kolli Hills, South India.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …