Our very own Martin M'Caw has been published ... again!
If you have ever seen Martin's library, then you will know that as far as books are concerned, "he is a bit of a reader". Well, it's now official that "he is a bit of a writer", too.
Here are three (so far) of his reviews that have appeared in the Baptist Times.
Hope Wins, by Goff Hope
In the face of suffering, hard places or death, Goff Hope encourages us to hope in the gospel and the goodness of God
Hope Wins - How a Vision of Our Eternal Future Impacts Our Lives Today By Goff Hope
Authentic
ISBN No: 978-1-78893-276-9
Reviewed by Martin M’Caw
Goff Hope is a leader in the King’s Community Church in Norwich with more than 30 years experience.
In the opening chapters, Hope Wins serves as a searchlight scanning the hopelessness of contemporary life. The clues are in some of the chapter headings: Hope on trial, When hope dies, Hope in the face of Illness, Hope in the face of death.
The starting point for Goff Hope’s experience was the consultant’s words ‘you have cancer’. That was 12 years ago. Despite numerous scans and more than 20 operations the cancer has not gone away, but hope remains the rock in Goff Hope’s experience and faith.
Contemporary hope is to win the lottery, have a life of ease and free of illness and trouble. ‘Some hope’ mutters the realist.
Christian hope has certainty and sureness. In the words of the old hymn ‘All my hope on God is founded, all my trust he will renew’.
And so in the second half of Hope Wins Goff takes us through the positives of Christian faith. The chapter headings make the point: Rediscovering heaven, Hope in the face of suffering, Holding on to hope, The hope that transforms life, Living with Heaven’s perspective.
None of that makes a simplistic read about the Christian life being easy peasy. He writes about how in the struggles of faith and the struggles of life we experience the comfort and strength of Christ holding us up and leading us on, through the problems of illness, bereavement, and all the things that trouble and worry us in contemporary life.
The book is a must for the struggling Christian, an invitation for the floundering agnostic, and a challenge to the bewildered atheist.
In what are almost his closing words Goff Hope writes hope ‘enriches our lives, driving out our insecurities and fears and equips us to walk through the darkest moments’.
The Revd Dr Martin M’Caw (retired Baptist minister and Wing Chaplain No 2 Welsh Wing RAF Cadets, also retired)
Baptist Times, 22/09/2023
Escape to Gwrych Castle, by Andrew Hesketh
The author explores the lesser-told history of the children who lived in this North Wales castle once used for I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here - a worthwhile read with some Baptist involvement in the story, too
Escape to Gwrych Castle - A Jewish Refugee Story By Andrew Hesketh
Calon (University of Wales Press)
ISBN: 978-1-837600-06-9
Reviewed by the Revd Dr Martin M’Caw
Many of you may remember Gwrych Castle from watching I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here during the Covid 19 pandemic. The phrase I’m a Jewish refugee keep me safe in here is more appropriate to describe the 200 Jewish teenagers and about 50 adult helpers who lived in the castle between 1939-1940, the period of focus for this book. All the racial, religious and technical points are seamlessly strung together in a manner that keeps the reader's attention, including 48 pages of appendices and notes.
Gwrych Castle can be glimpsed from the A55 trunk between St. Asaph and Abergele. Built in the 16th century it was bought and remodelled in the later 19th century. In 1935 Lord Dundonald mothballed the castle with three main rooms locked for storage and unsold furniture.
During the Second World War, as part of the Kindertransport programme, the Government used the castle to house around 200 young Jewish refugees but not their parents. It was run by the Jewish Zionist youth movement Bnei Akiva.
The book is not a detailed analysis of Jewish theology, but an account of the development and progress of the hachshara, an agricultural training course in preparation for a return to Israel. Life at Gwrych could be compared to life at a large boarding school with friendships, aggravations and progress attributed to the leaders.
Many difficulties were overcome against the odds: a leaking roof, draughts from windows and a lack of furniture. The dining room was not big enough so the music room and hall had to be used. There were 100 slates rather than plates, with only half the number of cutlery and cups. Meals were served to a staggered timetable with three sittings later reduced to two.
Dr. Julius Handler, a Moravian refugee and a Gwrych leader, contacted local ministers to explain the castle was being used as a hachshara (an agricultural training centre).
He was met with enthusiasm. The local nonconformist ministry was genuinely helpful and interested, especially the Abergele Welsh Baptist Chapel which closed around 2007. Overall the Rabbi had good relationships with local ministers. The Baptists were particularly enthusiastic.
In early 1940 the community held a Kongress ‘to solve the Jewish question.’ Debating centred on three key issues: a Jewish homeland in Israel, continuing as enclave communities, and full assimilation into home communities. At the end of the Kongress the vote was unanimous: ‘A Jewish nation in the Jewish land ’with a socialist economy and Torah culture.'
The German invasion of France and evacuation of Dunkirk brought a hardening of anti-German attitudes. Between 17 to 20 older boys were sent to the Isle of Man or dispatched in cramped unhygienic conditions to Canada and Australia.
The war was coming closer. British planes chasing German bombers with the released bombs caused destruction and death in the locality. Perhaps the final highlight was the observing of Yom Kippur in October.
Several reasons were suggested for the closing of Gwyrch, but the overall one was financial and possibly that despite good relationships between Gwrych and the people of Abergele, Jewish people were not massing in Abergele. The Epilogue outlines the later significant achievements of some of the youngsters.
Escape to Gwrych Castle is an interesting account of establishing the training centre, the relationships that developed with local people and farmers placed at the heart of hachshara intentions within the wider work of wartime Zionism.
A very worthwhile read.
The Revd Dr Martin M’Caw (retired Baptist minister and Wing Chaplain No 2 Welsh Wing RAF Cadets, also retired)
Baptist Times, 15/09/2023
With these Hands - Holding on to God in the storms of life by Leanne Mallett
Mallett's account of firmness of faith while struggling with cancer will encourage Christians and make others think about Christ.
With these hands - Holding on to God in the storms of life
By Leanne Mallett
Authentic ISBN 978-1-78893-274-5
Reviewed by Martin M’Caw
Whatever the strength of our faith during crises of life, be they our health or other persistent problems, we may find ourselves asking whether God is leading us up a blind alley or to a very high cliff edge. Leanne Mallett, a busy, healthy woman, with strong faith, and the wife of a Pentecostal pastor, was kidnapped by breast cancer. This book is her account of how she bravely worked through the cancer, paralleled with her reactions to the ongoing testing of her faith from January to December in 2021.
Each chapter finishes with two sub-sections. ‘In His hands’ relates to what she learned about God in that phase of her experience. In ‘Take a moment’ she asks the reader to reflect on how their life relates to her experience of God’s guiding hand, and that those who have no relationship with Jesus will discover something about a loving heavenly Father who is looking for them to grasp his loving hand.
The ups and downs of chemo were bad enough, but her treatment ended with a double mastectomy and the removal of her ovaries and tubes, and opting not to have reconstructive surgery. The ongoing surgical progress was one thing but knowing she was in the hands of Jesus was what made the whole agonising process bearable. In ‘Take a Moment’ she writes ‘whatever you are going through now, remember God is there with you.’
The final chapter ‘Moving On’, Leanne sets her priorities from all the lessons she has learned in her battles with cancer in the hope that readers and friends will be encouraged to place their hands in the hand of God who will be present to comfort, support and guide.
This is a book to go and get. If you are a Christian, Leanne Mallett’s experience will encourage you. If you are not a Christian and think following Christ is a waste of time, Leanne’s firmness of faith while struggling with cancer will invite you to think again: it will make you consider putting your hand in the hand of Christ to find a whole new vista of life through the redeeming love of God.
The Revd Dr Martin M’Caw (Retired Baptist minister and Wing Chaplain No2 Welsh Wing RAF Cadets, also retired)
Source: Baptist Times, 14/07/2023. Accessed on 27/07/2023 via https://www.baptisttimes.co.uk/Articles/666006/With_These_Hands.aspx and is reproduced with permission.