CiRBS Website History
We trust the following will give you some idea of the background to where we are today. You may not know all the names and places but they have been left in as some may remember them and the Lord has planted each in their season.
The Start
The Fellowship was founded in 1955 at 41 Lothbury Office (the Head Office of Westminster Bank Ltd), in the City of London. It was as a direct result of Billy Graham’s mission. Tom Douglas, who worked in the Cashiers area, contacted a coach company to supply coaches to take staff to the Billy Graham Crusade in London. As a result John Risby, now the Rev John Risby was converted to Christ and almost immediately commenced a bible study group in the lunch hour, each Monday, for the younger staff, in St Margaret’s Lothbury Church, next door to the Office. Tom Douglas, who was coming to the end of his banking life also started, at the same time, with permission of the Board, a monthly group in Lothbury Office; meeting after work. Fred Harding lay pastor of Spicer St Congregational Church, St Albans and one of the founders of the Chinese Church in London was joint secretary with Tom. Fred will always be remembered for his fearless witness for Christ within the Bank. A brilliant man, a brilliant banker - some said he would have gone much farther in the Bank but for his greater passion to go higher with his Saviour. His son, John Hardin and my self), were some of the younger people who met with John Risby in his Young Peoples’ Group in St Margaret’s.
From memory, I started attending this meeting in 1957 and remember we commenced with a hymn, supported with a portable organ. After that prayer and notices followed by a talk from a well-known speaker. Tom Douglas, a most gracious Christian, was always there to welcome and encourage us youngsters. I think about 20 - 25 attended. Meetings were advertised in the Westminster Bank Magazine, which most staff received - this way others joined the groups locally. People attended like Ron Heath, who later left the Bank to join and run Torch Trust for the Blind, Richard Howlett who moved to Overseas Branch, Sidney Alston a gifted Christian Personal Worker, Ed Reynolds and Roy Westlake who took it in turns to play the organ. These were some of the regulars at the meetings.
During this time another group commenced meetings in Bristol run by Miss Hill and Miss Clarke. For sometime these were the only groups within Westminster Bank.
The early days were established by the Godly leadership, however, of Tom - He knew every member - I am sure he prayed for them all - Tom’s father had been a Baptist Minister and Tom was also active in the Brixton area within his local church. For relaxation he loved cricket and whenever possible you would find him at the Oval. Tom, went to be with the Lord in 1978 aged 79 - even after his retirement he would often come up to see how the Lothbury Fellowship was prospering. Similarly Fred Harding was a fount of wisdom for us young Christians.
When Tom retired Richard Howlett took over as secretary of the London group followed by Bertie Bassett who led the group when the National Provincial Bank merged with Westminster Bank. The National Provincial also had a Christian Bible Study Group based in Drapers Gardens, which is close to Lothbury, so the two groups merged. Russell Clark, Economic adviser to the Bank was Chairman at the merger of the Fellowships. Later upon his retirement he became a lay reader in his local village - he was a very clear and easy to be understood preacher. His loved the Word of God.
Growth and Expansion
There was a wonderful day in 1970 when Mike Povey came up from the Bristol Group to meet me at the Tower of London (the place chosen for our meeting). Mike, had Vision - from the start He thought Big - Great ideas were in his mind - like “Why not have an annual Houseparty?” Let us travel round the country (the Midlands in fact, as it transpire) and meet some of these Christians in National Provincial Bank who did not have a local fellowship group. Let us see if we can expand. Ron Sprouse, Mike, and myself met up on a junction of one of the new motorways near Birmingham with Dave Hayward, the secretary of the Birmingham group. We then went on to Sheffield and met David Pettinger and Ken Tomsett and the latter agreed to start a group in Derby and Sheffield. You just did it in those days. Ken circularised all the local branches, and David did something similar and these 2 groups continued for some time.
The first Heythrop houseparty
Mike Povey happened to be a teacher at Heythrop and with the local Vicar and the Bank’s agreement organised the chapel at Heythrop, which many Bank staff over the years visited, when on courses at Heythrop. Whilst at Heythrop Mike realised his vision for a housparty had to be there. So it transpired and the first Nat West Christian Fellowship houseparty took place.
These houseparties continued for some 20 years - many of them organised, so well by Stuart Rowe.
A National Committee began after the merger. Mike Povey went into the Anglican Ministry in the USA and David Jones became Fellowship Secretary, and later Roy Wheeler. Roy was also a man of vision and during his time the Fellowship was some 800 members strong, with over 12 groups dotted around the country. At this time it was decided to have a subscription and give funds to those who had left the Bank and gone into Christian Work outside the Bank. Many of these were walking by faith and over the years thousands of pounds have been passed on to some 50 or so ex members of staff serving the Lord throughout the world.
Recent History
The last decades have seen the Fellowship inevitably contract due to so many of its members taking early retirement and this has caused many of the local groups to close. For sometime however there remained groups in Newcastle, Kings Cross, Lothbury (in St Margaret’s) and at Goodman’s Fields Computer Centre. Staff have moved on and it has been difficult to keep track of members - however - even now some 20 members walking by faith still receive funds each year due to the generosity of our 200 plus members that remain. Martin Edwards an earlier secretary of the London Group has been Chair of the Committee for the last decade and without his faithful and visionary leadership the Fellowship could easily within the last year or two have come to grief on the rocks which have come in our way. Martin has wonderfully guided the “Ship” though the rough waters. Since the take-over by Royal Bank of Scotland of NatWest Bank it has been good to discover there is a vibrant Christian group within RBOS and shortly the current committee are making arrangements to merge the two Fellowships.
Out of the seed of the NatWest Christian Fellowship a new Mustard Tree is growing with the name of Christians in RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland Group) - to be called CiRBS, and to help the tree to grow the Website has been developed
Birth of the Website
Possibly as far back as 1999 Martin Edwards suggested a Website for the Fellowship would be a possible way forward to facilitate communication and encourage members to become more involved with progressing Christian issues within the Bank. Slowly with much prayer this vision became reality and during the May and June 2002 the site was developed which July being a time of testing it out with a few Fellowship members and live date 1st August 2002.
The Future
Let us learn from the vision of Mike Povey and realise we serve a great God - we can learn from the past and take the best of what happened in the last years to help us find the WAY FORWARD.
There are scores more people time would not let me mention in this short history - but without them we would not be here today. Let us give thanks for the current national committee and please pray for them regularly.
Our pioneers are now in Glory but one senses there is still a future for Christians in Royal Bank of Scotland. READER PLEASE PRAY THAT THE FUTURE WILL BE JUST WHAT OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WANTS; FOR THERE TO BE LIGHT AND SALT ABOUNDING WITHIN AND THROUGH THE BANK.
Ron Granger - 11 July 2002