The History of Glad Tidings

"On reading the accounts given in the New Testament of the life of Jesus, how strange it seems that the rulers of the Jews should cause him to be put to death.”

With those words, Glad Tidings began its witness. It was March 1884 and two young men, T H Elwick of Lincoln and Percy Horsman of Nottingham, England, had joined forces as Editor and Publisher of a new magazine. They were Christadelphians and stated their Scriptural basis in that first issue as follows:

• To set forth the truth in its purity;
• To expunge and erase from every Bible doctrine the figments of human tradition, with which they have been darkened;
• To make clear the great scheme of human redemption provided by the Deity;
• To proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God;
• To demonstrate that the time is at hand when this kingdom shall be established.

Making allowances for changes of style and language that have taken place over the years, those aims remain the same in today’s magazine, for God’s purpose is unchanging. But there have indeed been many changes of format, style and personnel, as you would expect over the years.

Format Changes

When first published the magazine was the size of a tabloid newspaper and was sold at one halfpenny a copy. As one editor succeeded another and as printing processes changed, or became more restricted (for example in wartime), the appearance of the magazine also changed, as you can see (right).

It wasn’t only size that changed over the years. Colour came and went, as finances or circumstances changed, and so too did the location where the magazine was being produced and distributed. All the writers, editors and distributors are volunteers, as Glad Tidings has no paid staff. Mr Elwick, in Lincolnshire, was editor for 14 years and was succeeded by William Grant, who lived in Edinburgh, so production and distribution moved north of the border to Scotland. In 1928 it moved again, this time to London, where it stayed under a variety of editors until 1980. For the next five years it was edited in Rochdale, in the north of England, as Leslie Johnson lived there, although it was still printed in London and distributed by a team in Finsbury Park, London.

In 1985 the present editor took over and he now lives in Hampton-in-Arden, near Birmingham. During the 1980s the printing of Glad Tidings moved to North West Print in Sale, near Manchester, and an enthusiastic group of volunteers in Sale Christadelphian Meeting took over the distribution. They are still doing that work, years later, and the printing is still done nearby, now by Jarvis North West Print.

Members of the Glad Tidings distribution team in Sale Christadelphian Hall, where all the packaging is done

Editors since 1884

Here is a list of the various editors over the years:

T Elwick 1884-97 William Grant 1897-1928 Stanley Field 1928-34 John Owler 1934-45 Stanley Clementson 1945-80 Leslie Johnson 1980-85 Tecwyn Morgan 1985

Stanley Clementson

Leslie Johnson

The Glad Tidings Committee

So much for the past! Here are some pictures of the Glad Tidings Committee. We hope you enjoy the end result and that the magazine helps you to get a better understanding and appreciation of God’s great purpose, centred in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

From left to right: Tecwyn Morgan (Editor); Geoff Maycock (Secretary); Michael Morris (Treasurer); Audrey Harrison; Andrew Norcross; Judith Grifiths (Parcels & Packaging); Cilla Palmer (UK Distribution)

Christadelphian Beliefs

The present summary of our beliefs given in the magazine is brief and to the point, as follows:

A monthly magazine published by the Christadelphians (brothers and sisters in Christ) and available throughout the world. Its objectives are - to encourage the study of the Bible as God’s inspired message to mankind; to call attention to the Divine offer of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ; and to warn men and women that soon Christ will return to Earth as judge and ruler of God’s world-wide Kingdom.

Compare that with the Statement of Faith published on page 4 of the first issue, in 1884, and you will see at once that our understanding of the Scriptures has not changed at all over the years, although the language used and the style of communication certainly has. Here’s what Mr Elwick wrote all those years ago:

Again you will notice that language changes, for that was written well over 100 years ago, but the teaching of the Bible remains the same, and will never change until God has fulfilled all His gracious promises and sent the Lord Jesus back to earth to establish here the Kingdom of God on earth. Those are the glad tidings we want to share with you.