The Revd Frances Godden: 1938-2023  

'We give thanks to God for her life of faithful, unwavering service'

An appreciation, by the Revd Jenny Few

 
Frances, who has died aged 85, was the first woman Baptist minister I met, when she and her husband Harry ministered in the group of rural churches in Derbyshire where I lived. It is partly because of her example and prompting that I had the courage to start ministerial formation in my 40s. I will always be grateful for her support and it is a privilege to write this appreciation of her life.
 
Frances was a very organised person, who thought and planned and did everything in life very thoroughly, not least preparing for its end. She wrote detailed instructions for her funeral and several documents, cataloguing the main events and influences in her life. They reveal what shaped and motivated her,  making her both strong and vulnerable. She was more conscious of her limitations than her strengths, which were many and she remained surprised and grateful all her life that God called and chose her for ministry; ‘What, me Lord?’
 
She was born in 1938, a soldier’s daughter, in Kent. She was part of a large extended family, with a wide circle of friends in the church. After the war, her father joined the civil service and the family moved for his job to Oxfordshire and then to Liverpool, which was a real culture shock,  ‘I was always a ‘maid of Kent’ not a ‘scouser’.’ 

Life was characterised by school, church, Girl Guides, and holidays. It was in Liverpool that she first met the Godden family. Frances did well academically and  trained as a teacher, returning to Liverpool to teach in a primary school. Trips to Kent and Guildford brought her in contact with Harry again and they became engaged, ‘much to most people’s surprise.’ 

They married in 1963 and moved to Tyneside, where Harry worked as a civil engineer. They had two children Richard and Pamela, and then life changed dramatically as Harry began ministerial training at Spurgeon’s College. Frances describes that time as challenging, as she looked after their growing family while Harry studied. Also she was somewhat over-awed that she was going to be a minister’s wife. ‘Surely I wasn’t sedate or gracious enough for this high calling!’
 
Harry’s first pastorate was in West Yorkshire, where Michael was born, followed after a few years by a move to Eltham. Frances describes her role in the church as ‘unpaid curate’, often picking up responsibilities no one else wanted to do. As the children grew, she considered resuming her teaching career, but it soon became clear to them both that she was also being called into ordained ministry. Sadly there were some in the church who were strongly opposed to the idea of a woman minister. This led to friction, and so the years in Eltham came to an end, and they moved to Derbyshire. Frances completed her studies at Spurgeon's College and became the Revd Frances Godden. She and Harry worked well in partnership and it was a good time, as the churches thrived.  Frances comments, ‘Throughout these years I was fully accepted by ministerial colleagues and church members alike. I was using my gifts to the full and the years in Derbyshire were good years.’  
 
They both served on various committees of the Baptist Union and Association, and their passion for small churches led in 1988 to their taking up the role of joint secretaries of the EMBA, introducing many new ideas as they sought to encourage and bring together the churches in the Association.

After eight years they began to feel it was time to move on, and life took a surprising turn as they moved to the Isle of Skye, where they had enjoyed many camping and caravanning holidays. Now as permanent residents, they worked as camp site wardens, a hands-on role, and getting to know and work alongside the Church of Scotland and making contact with other Baptist incomers through the Baptist Union of Scotland. After four years they moved back to Nottingham to be closer to their family.
 
In retirement they kept busy,  as members of Newark then West Bridgford Baptist churches, and as part of a group helping to restore and renovate the historic Monksthorpe Baptist chapel in Lincolnshire. Monthly services were held so that once again it became place of worship. It is is now cared for by the National Trust. They knew both joy and sorrow in their family life, as one of their grandsons was born with a serious heart condition. Through the skill of doctors and much prayer he survived many operations and is able to live well. More recently their oldest son died, and I recall Frances speaking of her certainty that he was with the Lord, her faith sustaining her through the loss.
 
I’m conscious, as I think about Frances’ life that I am writing ‘they’ as often as ‘she’. Her partnership with Harry, in many years of marriage, family life and ministry was close and strong; in everything, they were a team. Now she has ‘gone home’ to be with the Lord, and as we give thanks to God for her life of faithful, unwavering service, we pray God’s comforting presence to be with Harry and their children and grandchildren who will miss her most.
 
 

The Revd Jenny Few