Local Faces: Frances and David Noble

David and Frances first met at University and after graduating, like many young people, headed for the bright lights of London. Frances lived in Islington and started working at Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers in the West End, whilst David, a Chartered Surveyor, also worked in the West End, and lived with friends in Harrow.

They were both country folk at heart, and when they decided to get married in 1990, they started house hunting within commuting distance of London. The Chilterns seemed an ideal choice, as Frances had by then been offered an opportunity to specialise in silver and jewellery valuation at Phillips’ Oxford branch – Wendover proved to be about halfway between Oxford and London.

The newlyweds were so busy travelling or working that they didn’t have much time for local life but they explored the local churches and discovered Wendover Free Church which was friendly, small and suited them.

They were very surprised when in 1993 two teenagers from the Free Church, Helen Coles and Margaret Pollard, asked if they could take on the newly vacant role of Christian Youth Leaders. Their first instinct was to refuse because neither of them had been in a youth group as teenagers and they felt they did not have relevant experience. Persistence triumphed and since that September, the start of the academic year, they have found themselves leading.

In the four years since they started, they have built up good contacts with other local churches and youth groups. As well as the encouragement of Churches Together in Wendover, they have links with Bucks Baptist Youth Association (South Bucks) and Aylesbury Vale Youth for Christ. Dominic McDermott, a full time Roman Catholic youth worker based in the Wycombe area and funded by the local Roman Catholic Parish (St Anne’s, Wendover, and Immaculate Heart, Great Missenden), Matthew Ryan from St Mary’s Church of England, Wendover, and Jo and Mike Newton of Wendover Free Church, have all become involved.

If you are aged 14+, want to make new friends, enjoy social activities like ice- skating, cinema, pizza and video evenings, ten-pin bowling, dry-slope skiing etc, and are interested in learning more about Christianity, and exploring topical issues that affect young people today, then this group is for you. As a non-denominational group, members come from all sorts of backgrounds and everyone is welcome.

The activities planned for December include a big Christmas Party on the 17th and carol singing on the 25th to raise money for needy charities. For the past 4 years the group has gone to “Spring Harvest”, and exciting 6-day Christian festival held at Easter and are hoping to go again next year.

Everyone was thrilled for Frances and David on the birth of their son, Daniel in June 1997. Their work with youth takes on an even younger aspect!