Local Face: Christine Wright
Although Christine was born in Watford, her first memories are of the little village of Calstock in Cornwall where her family moved when she was three. Her father’s work as a Baptist minister took them to different parts of the country throughout her childhood, including Leicestershire, Surrey and Norfolk. However, when Christine was a studying to be a teacher in London, the family moved to Wendover and her father became minister of the Baptist Church in South Street. From her first visit, Christine wanted to live here, instantly loving the easily accessible woods and hills as well as the charm of the village itself.
After marrying Graham in 1973, Christine got a job as a nursery teacher in a grim corner of south-east London, but escaped to Wendover whenever she could. When the chance to move to Wendover came in 1975, both she and Graham eagerly grasped it! They were pleased to be able to begin their family and to bring up their two daughters, Jenny and Alison, in such pleasant surroundings. Both attended primary schools in Wendover and their grand-daughter, Maya, has just started at John Hampden School.
In 1975 Wendover Nursery School was opening in St Anne’s Hall and this was an opportunity for Christine to continue working with children. She also soon began to help with the children’s work at Wendover Baptist Church on Sunday mornings and later to start a Friday night club for 7-11s in their own small home which was sometimes packed with twenty children! She was also, for a while, a unit helper with 4th Wendover Brownies, and is currently a unit helper with the Rainbows.
Christine always had the ambition to be a writer and was very excited to have her first book, ‘Turnabout’, a novel for teenagers, published by Scripture Union in 1984. Since then she has rarely been out of print, writing or contributing to a succession books and resources, including two more novels for teenagers, Bible stories for under-5s, three picture books for 5-7s and a novel for 10-12s.
In 1987 she started to join the early morning commuters at Wendover Station when she was appointed by Scripture Union as editor of the quarterly publication ‘Learning Together with Under-5s’, part of a range of resources for people working with children in churches. This enabled Christine to develop her interest in training and teaching adults as she travelled around the country organising and taking part in big Scripture Union training events. She has been pleased to be able to use these skills in Wendover, co-leading the ever-popular Christian basics (known as ‘Emmaus’) courses over many years and helping to develop and lead new courses, including, at the end of 2006 ‘Exploring Hymns’.
Although not working full-time, she still writes and edits freelance.
Her latest, and seasonal, contribution to the publishing world is ‘More Christmas Unwrapped’, published by Scripture Union, a compilation of resources for use in schools, clubs and churches, including drama, stories, poems, songs, services for all-ages.
Having lived in Wendover now for over thirty years, Christine does not regret moving here and wouldn’t mind living here for another thirty years!