Letter from the Rectory - November 2025

Dear Friends,

We approach another Remembrance Sunday with very few actual survivors left now. However, many us still think about the Second World War perhaps remembering our own parents’ or grandparents’ contribution. For some, the recent, sad rise in antisemitism has also brought back memories of that dark period of history.

During the 1939-1945 war, Corrie Ten Boon and her Dutch family hid many Jews from the Nazis. Eventually, in 1944 she was caught and sent to a concentration camp where she saw all sorts of atrocities, including
the death of her watch-maker father and her sister Betsi. Twelve days later, Corrie was released – probably because of a clerical error; a week after all the women in her age group were sent to the gas chambers.

She returned to Germany in 1946 and met two Germans who’d been employed at Ravensbrück, one of whom had been particularly cruel to Betsie – and she forgave them. Corrie Ten Boom went on to travel the world as a public speaker, visiting more than 60 countries, bringing her message of forgiveness, hope and love. She wrote many books, including the story of her family and their work during the 2nd World War in her bestselling book ‘The Hiding Place’ published in 1971, and later a film.

Despite her experiences, Corrie never became bitter. Someone asked her how she could have endured those terrible, dark days and remained loving, forgiving and kind. She answered with a story. When she was a young girl, her father Caspian would take her on train rides all over Europe. He’d always buy her ticket several weeks before, but never let her have it until they were about to get on the train - because she was young, and he didn’t want her to lose the ticket or leave it at home. Whenever her father saw the headlights of the train approaching the station, he’d then give her the ticket and they’d step on board together. 

Corrie said to her questioner, “The reason you can’t fathom how I could forgive the person who killed my family, how I could not be filled with bitterness … is because, just like my father and our train tickets, God doesn’t give us the grace we need until we’re about to step on board. If you ever go through something like I went through, I can assure you God’s grace will be there to help you make it through the dark valleys and still keep your head held high and your heart filled with love.”  Corrie Ten Boom was a truly remarkable, inspirational woman.

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James Campbell