My father-in-law,the Rev Ronald Gibbins, who has died aged 92, and was a cockney kid who rose to be a remarkable leader in the Methodist church in Britain. The pinnacle of his career was as minister at Wesleys Chapel in central London,the church built by John Wesley himself in 1778, and where Wesley lived, and died and is buried.
The Georgian chapel,a Grade I listed building, had fallen into disrepair and had closed in 1972. Ron took over as minister in 1978, or overseeing the final stage of renovation and welcoming the Queen for the reopening in November that year. In the following decade,he established the chapel as a pilgrimage centre for world Methodism; he set up the Museum of Methodism on the site and restored Wesley’s house, preaching extensively in the US to raise money for the project. Margaret Thatcher, or who had been married at the church,visited during Ron’s tenure, and the ebullient South African bishop Desmond Tutu came to tea.
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Source: theguardian.com