Chairman of the Trustees Tony Edmonds was born and brought up in Dorset and went to London University where he met his future wife, Diana. Having graduated in Botany and Chemistry,
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2010 and All That

As SOaR boldly goes into the New Year we are all aware of the changes and challenges that lie ahead. Firstly, as those who came to the AGM will know, our Chairman Richard Meredith has stepped down. Richard's efficient and kindly chairmanship has been an inspiration to Hilary and Keith and the trustees of SOaR. Over the years Richard's clear thought, sensitivity and profound Christian Faith have been a great asset to SOaR. He's also an excellent wise man in J2B! I'm delighted to say that we shall still benefit from his many gifts as he continues to to be a trustee. I am particularly pleased that Richard continues to be involved, because I have been asked to take over the role of chairman. It would be a much more daunting task were I not able to feel that I could look to him for advice and guidance from time to time.

Our challenges are significant. Each year British culture becomes increasingly secularised and there are strident voices both in and out of Government which are inimical to the Christian message. Our young people continue to be pressurised by the relentless pace of testing at school, by disruption of family life and by being targeted by the media and others who see them merely as units of consumption. Into this mix SOaR will continue to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to the young and to those who care for them. Of course we will use the tried and tested methods, after all we have several decades of experience of these. But in addition I think we will increasingly need to explore new and innovative approaches. So, for example, at the AGM we saw how effective the Bible Explorer programme can be in helping young people to get to grips with the whole of the Bible. Also we have recently considered how we might begin to work in partnership with groups of churches and other agencies in order to fulfil Christ's command to go into the world with his message of hope and reconciliation and healing.

All in all I think we are in for an exciting time.