SPCK
GOD's rich Pattern - A trip that would make a difference
GOD's rich Pattern - A trip that would make a difference
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A trip that would make a difference Throughout all our struggle, the work of The Lin Berwick Trust continued. We had our first cottage in East Harling, Norfolk. We were then looking for a second site. Where it would come from, I had no idea. I knew we just had to go forward in fa…
GOD's rich Pattern - Patience through the chaos
GOD's rich Pattern - Patience through the chaos
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Patience through the chaos Living with Parkinson’s (I use that phrase deliberately due to the fact that Parkinson’s took over our lives) is no joke, particularly when the person suffering from it is angry, but will not express his anger. The way it manifested itself was to come o…
GOD's rich Pattern - A reason for living
GOD's rich Pattern - A reason for living
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A reason for living Ralph hated the term Parkinson’s disease. He felt he was somehow contagious, and didn’t want anyone to know that he had it. He behaved as though he were ashamed. When tragedy strikes, our first reaction is that we don’t want to go on. Life has no meaning. For …
GOD's rich Pattern - A devastating moment
GOD's rich Pattern - A devastating moment
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A devastating moment One morning I awoke to hear Ralph making some very strange noises, squealing and screeching sounds, and a noise from his mouth as though he were blowing bubbles. He couldn’t speak to me and he couldn’t move. My first thought was that he may have had a stroke.…
GOD's rich Pattern - Up, up and away
GOD's rich Pattern - Up, up and away
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Up, up and away The next five years were incredibly rewarding and challenging. As I grew in confidence as a married woman, I grew in my desire to explore the world around me, and Ralph was the one to help me to do it. His attitude of ‘You’re not disabled, you’re just someone who …
GOD's rich Pattern - One small step along the way
GOD's rich Pattern - One small step along the way
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
One small step along the way Ralph regularly attended our local Methodist church. He had come a long way spiritually because now his visits were not just when I was preaching. When taking Holy Communion our minister always brought the bread and the wine to our pew and offered it …
GOD's rich Pattern - Building blocks for God
GOD's rich Pattern - Building blocks for God
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Building blocks for God We were at the stage where Ralph was beginning to help me with some of my consultancy work. I was asked to appear on television. We had to go to Bristol for the recording. We stayed in a five-star hotel that was supposed to be wheelchair friendly, and have…
GOD's rich Pattern - Go forth and tell
GOD's rich Pattern - Go forth and tell
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Go forth and tell Seven years of study and preaching commitment were now to culminate in a service commissioning me as a fully accredited Methodist local preacher. What a moment. A day I had longed for. I can remember the beautiful summer’s evening the day before, warm yet cool. …
GOD's rich Pattern - A new life together
GOD's rich Pattern - A new life together
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A new life together The wedding and honeymoon were fantastic. But I now had to face the harsh reality of learning to cope on my own during the day, for the first time in thirty-seven years. Occasionally, people would pop in, but for the most part I was by myself, and I was terrif…
GOD's rich Pattern - Wedding day
GOD's rich Pattern - Wedding day
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Wedding day The frenetic preparation on the morning of my wedding day hardly gave me any time to think about what I was undertaking. The whole day put me in a whirl. I can remember my mother asking me at six o’clock in the morning whether I had any regrets. I told her I couldn’t …
GOD's rich Pattern - A time of discovery
GOD's rich Pattern - A time of discovery
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A time of discovery A romance, in the truest sense of the word, is a wonderful time of discovery – a meeting of minds and bodies, of personal strengths and weaknesses, and of tenderness between a couple. In my case, Ralph had many moments of discovery about issues relating to dis…
GOD's rich Pattern - A coming together
GOD's rich Pattern - A coming together
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A coming together Our friendship blossomed. We had many happy social hours together. It was wonderful helping Ralph to enter into the world of classical music. It was at one such concert, which had the romantic double bill of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, and Rachmaninov’s Seco…
GOD's rich Pattern - A fine romance
GOD's rich Pattern - A fine romance
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A fine romance My life was to take a dramatic turn in a way I could never have expected. I had had a client referred to me for bereavement counselling. We had shared nineteen hours. In that time he had gone through many emotions, talking about his late wife, who had died six mont…
GOD's rich Pattern - Shared dark valley
GOD's rich Pattern - Shared dark valley
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Shared dark valley Every new contact with counselling took me on a different pathway. Through the work with Carematch, Dr Greengross asked me to get involved with SPOD (Sexual Problems of Disabled). It is sobering for some people to realize that people with disabilities are sexua…
GOD's rich Pattern - A new career
GOD's rich Pattern - A new career
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A new career My good friend, Dr Wendy Greengross, known to many of you as Dr Wendy in the Sun newspaper and for her counseling broadcasts on the BBC’s If You Think You’ve Got Problems programme, had become a great supporter to me from 1976, when I had my first eye removed. She ha…
GOD's rich Pattern - Treading water
GOD's rich Pattern - Treading water
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Treading Water I used this limbo period in my life to study and stretch my mind. My family thought it was a complete waste of time, but when you read C. G. Jung, Freud, Ardler, T. A. Harris and many more, then on the religious front many books from the great writers and philosoph…
GOD's rich Pattern - Dogged determination
GOD's rich Pattern - Dogged determination
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Dogged determination I had a mixed reaction from people when I entered the local preachers’ meeting. I was questioned by the secretary as to my ability to preach. He said that it would be difficult for me to cope with the public speaking. I explained that I had done over three hu…
GOD's rich Pattern - New beginnings