The interesting story of Edward Fogarty

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Edward Fogarty was very active in preaching and Sunday School work in Belfast but in 1918 a business trip to the North of England was to change his life forever. He saw the great spiritual need of Co Durham and Northumberland and gave up his employment to take the message of the Gospel, the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, to areas rarely visited by any preacher who was prepared to go there.

He would preach in the open air and in his wooden tent. The wooden tent was a canvas tent with wooden sides, Edward himself having a room inside, which he used as his living quarters. He had little to support him for he was pioneering in areas of mining and farming that saw men taking home low wages. He moved amongst the poor with many only having the bare necessities of life. Nobody was too poor, too ill or too disagreeable for Edward to challenge them with his message. What, however, was the message that he preached unashamedly, whatever the cost to him.

In his early years Edward heard preached, at an open air meeting, that the Bible says that all have sinned before God. Furthermore as sinners men face awful consequences but God had provided a unique way to save men and women from the penalty of their sin forever and give them the free gift of eternal life. 

One Event - Two reactions

 

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

One Event - Two reactions

 

I have no doubt that we are all concerned about the events of the past week. What will be the outcome of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? How can one man act without due regard for the opinion of the Ukrainian people? But, if you are a Russian citizen you may well have a completely different reaction to these events. One event can often produce two reactions.

In April 2018, on the anniversary of the recommencement of the State of Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported that ‘While Israeli Jews mark Independence Day with fireworks and barbecues, the flags that sprout everywhere in Jewish areas will be absent from Arab towns, and the thoughts of many there will turn to what they term the “Nakba” (catastrophe) that they associate with Israel’s birth. 

The same date and occasion produced two different reactions from two diverse groups of people - gladness or grief, delight or dread, pleasure, or pain.

Bridging the Gap

One aspect of history that always captures my interest is the story of the Titanic. If there was ever an enduring picture of a disastrous end, it is the story of the Titanic. The Titanic had a great start. It was the greatest ship ever built and had all the latest security features. It was said of the Titanic that "God could not sink her!"  The whole world knew about this man-made wonder, and still do today, and yet she sailed for only 5 days. However, the Titanic was doomed as it left for New York. This is because normal shipping practices were disregarded and this eventually led to tragedy. All the warnings and words of wisdom were ignored.  Captain Edward John Smith, remembered for his stoicism and fortitude in the face of adversity, sadly is remembered more for his failure to reach the destination of New York"

One of the fads of 1970s America was the motorcycle jump. This trend reached its high (and low) point on September 8, 1974. Thousands of spectators gathered around the Snake River Canyon in Idaho to see if Evel Knievel could jump across the chasm in a specially designed “sky cycle.” In the end, however, it was unsuccessful. Knievel made it only part of the way across the gulf before his parachute deployed and he dropped to the canyon floor below. Some spectators asked, “How far across the canyon did he get?” But that wasn’t the point. He didn’t make it all the way across, so he fell short of his goal.