In Depth:  Julia Cameron

While Mary Gladstone’s name may not be widely known, the fruit of her labours is clearly evident.

As a new Christian at Cambridge, she and her friends befriended an unconverted fresher, Helen Roseveare, later to become one of the foremost missionaries of the 20th century.

Generations of Christian Union members will remember Margaret Weston with affec-tion and gratitude. Her husband, Canon Keith Weston, was a widely-loved speaker in CUs and Margaret often travelled with him, making herself available to talk with students.

From 1964 to 1985, Keith was Rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford. Margaret exercised a pastoral ministry among its students, as among members of the parish. The rectory was then amid some of the most deprived housing in the county.

Keith Small was one of the foremost Qur’an scholars of our time. His work on early manuscripts was to provoke new questions among secular and Islamic scholars alike.

While at Dallas Theological Seminary, Keith read of Henry Martyn, and resolved to give his life to work among Muslims. He married Celeste Gardner in 1985, equally committed to the Muslim world, and they moved to the UK in 1989, settling in Dewsbury.

Sam Berry came to faith in Christ through Iwerne camps, while at Shrewsbury School. From his Cambridge days as an undergraduate in natural sciences, he took a clear stand as a Christian, arguing that a model of evolution should not hinder a belief in a Creator.

In 1975 he published his first book, Adam and the Ape. From here he became known as a leading apologist for theistic evolution. In 1974, he had been appointed as Professor of Genetics at University College London, a chair he would hold until 2000. The tribute from UCL described him as ‘a massive figure in evolutionary and ecological genetics, biodiversity and conservation biology’ and noted his Christian faith. Sam was a man of immense output. His books included academic titles in biological science and Christian apologetics. He was generous with his time, accepting many speaking engagements, and lending his name and presence to a range of initiatives in the area of ecology. While eminent in his field, he wore his achievement lightly.

Michael Rees, with his welcoming smile, will be remembered by generations of Cambridge students as the vicar of Holy Trinity Church (1972 –1984).

Michael stayed close to the CICCU, and after the Sunday evening service dispersed, the CICCU would take over the building for its weekly evangelistic address.

Audrey Laura Osei-Mensah was born in East Ham and professed faith in Christ aged 14, through her confirmation class in Wanstead. In 1955 she went up to Birmingham University to read geography. As she wrote in her memoirs: ‘It was during my first year that Bible study replaced geography as my first love, which it has remained ever since!’

She served on the Birmingham CU Exec alongside a thoughtful student from Ghana: Gottfried Osei-Mensah, with whom she maintained a friendship while teaching at Clarendon School from 1959 to 1962. In 1962 she applied for a position with SIM in Nigeria, whereupon Gottfried, by now with Mobil Oil in Accra, proposed to her. At her father’s suggestion, she first went to Ghana for three months to get to know Gottfried’s family and context. They married the following year.

Ghana’s First Lady, Ernestina Mills, described Nigel Sylvester as ‘Ghana’s Wesley’. His influence was to spread across English-speaking Africa and then across the world.

Nigel Sylvester professed faith in Christ as a fresher in the Cambridge 1949 Barnhouse mission; shortly afterwards he lost both his parents in an aircrash. As a very young Christian, Nigel followed Mike Griffiths as CICCU President. With a First in Maths, he entered Ridley Hall with Mike Griffiths (later General Director of OMF) and Michael Allison (later PPS to Margaret Thatcher). Breaking with precedent, none was ordained.

Ken Wycherley served with UCCF from 1975 to 1989, first as a Travelling Secretary, then on the senior staff team.

In the early 1980s he played a strategic role in restructuring the student department to meet the needs of rapid growth in the tertiary sector. Ken’s clarity of thought was appreciated by staff and student leaders alike, as policies and guidance were formulated on a range of campus issues. He always retained a strong commitment to evangelism and mission.