Michael Green, a child of the countryside (by his son Tim Green)

Dad grew up in rural Oxfordshire and always remained a child of the countryside, taking joy in simple things throughout his life. His father Ted, a quiet studious Welsh clergyman only 5 feet tall, was married late in life to Beatrice, a more emotional Australian ten years younger and ten inches taller. Dad was their only child and his mother poured out her love on him. He grew up in a village rectory, spending much time on his own. Alone he explored the hedgerows, learning to identify wildflowers and all the British butterflies. As a teenager in wartime when meat was scarce, he would stalk rabbits alone to feed the family or to sell at sixpence a time in Banbury market.

To supplement the meagre family income, Dad helped his mother keep hens and sell the eggs. This gave him a lifelong love of chickens, and a favourite one called Goldie would perch on his handlebars as he cycled round the village. Many years later he kept hens as a college principal in Nottingham, and then as a rector in the heart of Oxford city. Much more recently he would bring weeds from his garden to feed the hens at my sister Jenny’s home. He would talk to them in chicken language and impersonate their clucks, coos and crowing noises, and they would respond in like manner.

His love of hens and dogs and rabbits (alive or dead), and fishing and gardening were all solitary pursuits, as were his hobbies of visiting museums and reading. Many people are surprised to learn he was not an extrovert at all, but rather an introvert who also loved people. Solitude recharged his batteries.

The need to save money was deeply engrained in my father. He spent little on himself, as shown by the tiny collection of threadbare clothes he left behind. Yet he also loved to give to others, and many a visitor went away with rhubarb or carrots from the garden, or a trout he had caught. So he was both instinctively frugal and impulsively generous, two urges that competed within him. My brother Jonathan recalls the first time he introduced my parents to Sally, whom he went on to marry. Dad nobly rose to the occasion and offered to take them out for a meal. So Jonathan selected a very modest restaurant but, reaching there, Dad’s frugal side took over. He tried to pay for Jonathan and Sally to eat while he and Mum would wait to get home for a poached egg!

This book tells the story Michael Green's life and ministry through the recollections of his family, friends and colleagues. The collection of articles narrate his formative years through service in the military, his call to ministry and theological development.

Michael Green by his friends will be published on 19th September 2019

Order your copy here >>

Service of Thanksgiving for Michael Green - Saturday 7th September 11:00 - 12:30pm at Coventry Cathedral.