As a young Christian, Erroll Hulse had prayed that if the Lord were to call him into the ministry could it be to a small out-of-the-way church down a country lane, so that when good things happened everyone would know it a work of God and all the glory would go to him.
In the early 1960s he was called to just such a church, Cuckfield Baptist Church in rural Sussex. Constituted with just 12 members, from there many were converted and a worldwide ministry among Reformed Baptists took off.
Cuckfield service
It was at Cuckfield Baptist Church, now reconstructed, that a large congregation gathered on Monday 21 August to remember Erroll, who died on 3 August, and to thank God for his life.
Erroll played a key role in the rediscovery of the Puritans and Reformed theology which took place in the 1950s and 60s and so it was fitting that the first contribution concerning Erroll’s life came from his great friend from those days, Iain Murray of the Banner of Truth. Andrew Symonds, who was part of the Cuckfield venture from the very first, gave 12 short characteristics of his former pastor focussing on his enthusiasm, prayer and evangelistic zeal.
The glory of Christ
Kees van Kralingen, who took over as editor of the magazine Reformation Today from Erroll, spoke on behalf of all those from overseas touched by Erroll’s ministry, pointing up particularly the great work of initiating and sustaining the African Pastors’ Conferences.
What Neil Hulse had to say on behalf of the family, with Lynn and Erroll’s marriage at the centre of the household, was especially moving. Apart from his dad’s graciousness and rising to meet every challenge with patience and godliness, he paid him a most wonderful compliment: that he was ‘never boring.’ As he struggled with his own emotions, Bill James preached inspiringly from Psalm 72, reminding us of two of his father-in-law’s favourite themes, the glory of Christ and the glory of his kingdom.
The songs at the service were sung with great volume by a congregation very aware of the debt many present owed, under God, to the Christian leader whose life they were celebrating. Following the service, Erroll’s body was buried in Holy Trinity graveyard in Cuckfield, alongside his beloved wife Lynn.
