John Halford was an encourager par exellence, and he loved to talk to people and learn their stories. He liked to seek out the person others were not paying attention to. "That's the person you can learn something from," he would say. His creative flair, wit and caring touch in writing left readers entertained as well as wiser. John was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, a dear friend to many and a mentor and counselor to many, many more. "Sorely missed" is an understatement.
A few years ago I had the privilege of interviewing John. Here is a link: https://www.gci.org/gcit/halford
I got to know John when we lived in England, he was the minister in charge of Europe at the time and lived just north of London. So we got to see John quite a bit since we attended the Watford (near the Bricketwood campus) church, which was the headquarters congregation.
Later when we moved to Montreal a former executive student from LG, the giant Korean company, was a major sponsor of the Montreal F1. They gave us a table for 6 in the honoured guests' section of the suites at the track. Realizing John was a huge F1 fan I invited him and he flew up from Indiana where he lived to enjoy this high-end experience with us. He gave a wonderfully insightful and entertaining sermon at the Montreal English church on Saturday (we have since moved to meet on Sunday) that weekend and then we had a delightful day on Sunday at the race. What a pleasure to host John for a weekend!
John was my "lead man" when I first went on the visiting program in the summer of 1965, age 19 turning 20. John was only slightly older in years but a decade older in maturity. He was a wonder to watch and learn from. He was so very empathetic with older people in particular. He was a model to me of why I knew I could never qualify to become a minister. Other lead men -- like Bob Hoops -- only sealed the case. He was a superb gentleman with church members and very warm to all. I was just not that much of a "people person" as John and Bob, but I grew to respect the ministerial calling through John Halford first of all. May he rest in peace.
Mike Feazell (1969)
John Halford was an encourager par exellence, and he loved to talk to people and learn their stories. He liked to seek out the person others were not paying attention to. "That's the person you can learn something from," he would say. His creative flair, wit and caring touch in writing left readers entertained as well as wiser. John was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, a dear friend to many and a mentor and counselor to many, many more. "Sorely missed" is an understatement.
A few years ago I had the privilege of interviewing John. Here is a link: https://www.gci.org/gcit/halford
Karl Moore (1973)
I got to know John when we lived in England, he was the minister in charge of Europe at the time and lived just north of London. So we got to see John quite a bit since we attended the Watford (near the Bricketwood campus) church, which was the headquarters congregation.
Later when we moved to Montreal a former executive student from LG, the giant Korean company, was a major sponsor of the Montreal F1. They gave us a table for 6 in the honoured guests' section of the suites at the track. Realizing John was a huge F1 fan I invited him and he flew up from Indiana where he lived to enjoy this high-end experience with us. He gave a wonderfully insightful and entertaining sermon at the Montreal English church on Saturday (we have since moved to meet on Sunday) that weekend and then we had a delightful day on Sunday at the race. What a pleasure to host John for a weekend!
Here a very insightful video interview with John about growing older well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyWVmwiyOqE&ab_channel=GraceCommunionInternational Great advice, well worth watching...
Gary Alexander (1963)
John was my "lead man" when I first went on the visiting program in the summer of 1965, age 19 turning 20. John was only slightly older in years but a decade older in maturity. He was a wonder to watch and learn from. He was so very empathetic with older people in particular. He was a model to me of why I knew I could never qualify to become a minister. Other lead men -- like Bob Hoops -- only sealed the case. He was a superb gentleman with church members and very warm to all. I was just not that much of a "people person" as John and Bob, but I grew to respect the ministerial calling through John Halford first of all. May he rest in peace.