8:50am Monday 1st March 2010
FOUR inspirational speakers will tell their tales of political protest, murder, terrorism and loss at a four-day event next week.
The churches of mid Cheshire have united to bring the different guests to Winsford Lifestyle Centre to talk about how they found hope and a passion for life through their most turbulent times.
Henry Olonga, who played cricket for Zimbabwe and used his sport to protest against Robert Mugabe, despite facing death threats, will appear on Wednesday, March 3, and even play his guitar.
Robin Oake, a former chief constable of the Isle of Man whose son was murdered by a terrorist, will speak on Thursday, March 4, and will be joined on the evening by Manchester gospel group Sing Out.
An interview with Fiona Castle, who has rallied in her charity work and writing since the death of her husband Roy, will take place on Friday, March 5, complemented by ‘Songs from the Musicals’.
Then former terrorist David Hamilton, who found God while serving in the infamous Maze Prison and now believes firmly in peace, will appear on Saturday, March 6, joined by acoustic guitarist and singer, John de Jong.
Each of the Passion for Life events will start at 7.30pm and will be hosted by well-known Christian speaker Roger Carswell.
A total of eight churches have joined together to organise the Passion for Life event, including Bethell Evangelical; Christ Church, Greenbank; Christ Church, Wharton; Emmanuel Evangelical; St Michael’s. Middlewich; St John’s, Hartford; St Stephen’s, Moulton; and St Wilfrid’s, Davenham.
The Rev George Crowder, from St John’s, said: “We want to give the Christian message but in a way that people will relate to.
“Hopefully we’re putting something on that is really good and that people will be interested in.”
The Guardian has spoken to some of the special guests to give our readers a sneak-peak at their stories: l Fiona Castle: Fiona’s talk is called Peace and Hope in Tragic Loss as she discusses how Christianity has helped her through difficult times, including losing her TV star husband Roy to lung cancer in 1994.
“I was suicidal but now my life has changed, it’s exciting,” she said.
“I want people who are maybe going through what I’ve been through to know that there is something to help.”
She added: “I think Christianity is given a very negative press these days and I want to tell people that Jesus can change their lives.
“Christianity has given me a hope and security I never thought possible.”
Fiona, a retired dancer who counted Morecambe and Wise among her friends, said she became a Christian 35 years ago when she was at a very low ebb.
“I was so low in spirit and I just got down on my knees and said ‘God, help’, and immediately the phone rang and it was a Christian woman saying she’d had me on her mind and had to phone me.
“She said she felt as if I would like to talk so I went to her house and she led me to Jesus.”
Fiona’s talk will also include tales about Roy, Morecambe and Wise and her dancing past.
“People love me to talk about Roy, which is quite extraordinary because it’s more than 15 years since he died.”
l David Hamilton: Former terrorist David Hamilton has been shot, blown up and spent much of his life behind bars as a political prisoner.
Now a pastor in Manchester, David, 54, grew up as a Protestant on the notorious Rathcoole estate in Belfast and became embroiled in the sectarian troubles in the late 1960s.
He said: “At that time they were building barricades and forming paramilitary organisations.
“As a teenager I became a member of a gang called the Rathcoole KAI – which stood for Kill All Irishmen.
“That was when I became involved in fighting and rioting on the estate.
“Then in a youth club one night a man came in and asked us to join the UDA [Ulster Defence Association].
“We were all given uniforms and we became sort of vigilantes, marching around the estate and building barricades and so on.
“But there were also more proactive members who wanted to fight the IRA.
“I wanted to do that and started committing armed robberies. At the time I just saw the IRA as the enemy.”
In 1973, David served nine months in prison, but was soon back on the streets creating violence, this time robbing banks and planting bombs.
He said: “We were treated as political prisoners and served our time in uniform in divided compounds.
“It did change me but only for the worse.”
He then fell foul of the law once again and was jailed for armed robbery.
But it was in prison that he experienced a revelation that would change his life.
He said: “I was locked up one night in my cell and I looked over at my bed and there was a Gospel tract.
"I read it, but then screwed it up in a ball and threw it out the window.
“Then 15 minutes later, suddenly this thought came into my head, ‘David, it's time to change, become a Christian’.”
David explained how he was mocked by his peers as he turned his back on crime and embraced religion.
He added: “There are times when I have been tested – including when members of my family were blown up and seriously injured.
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