Revd Tony Ingleby is priest-in-charge of the Liskeard and St Keyne Church of England parishes. After many years’ in the ministry, Tony will be joining the ranks of the happily retired this summer!

“I guess the hymns, which I sang to earn 3d (about 1p) a service in the Church Choir, did a bit of work; certainly the sermons didn’t because that was ‘time off’ in the service. (They switched the lights off so the congregation could sleep and the choirboys could do what a choirboy’s gotta do!)

When I became 11 and completely My Own Man with homework to not do etc, I stopped going to church, but God sneaked his face in through RE (an O-level nobody failed) and a Christian friend who was what we would now call a ‘Babe Magnet’. Questioning revealed that the source of his girlfriends was his church youth club, combined with an after church ‘discussion group’.

Meeting girls and arguing with people was too good an opportunity to miss so I began cycling the seven miles to his church on a regular basis.

The emotional and intellectual stimulation I derived from this connection was enjoyable and in my plan, but God used both of those pathways into my life in his plan and I realised after a year or so, that when I recited the Creed, though I may have had reservations about disputable phrases, I did believe in God and in particular that I was grateful for Jesus who had done so much for me. So I gave in, got confirmed, and continued my intellectual and emotional journey towards becoming God’s Own Man, which I don’t expect to achieve this side of heaven.”