Ruth Edwards 17 He said, " We must pray for a change of heart". After listening to a talk at that week's Bible Study and a nudge from her daily Bible reading, the Lord did change her heart, but she was told that the vacancy had been fi lled. Ruth was undeterred. ' I wrote back stating that I would be needed in the future as God had called me to the work.' She was invited to meet the committee - ' about eight gentlemen in black suits. They sat around a large table with pens and notepaper. After reading and prayer I was asked to explain why I thought God had called me to the work of the Pilgrims. When I had fi nished Mr John Doggett said " You are needed at the Hornsey Rise home" and the others agreed.' That was in 1966, and years later, retired Chief Executive Trevor Dennett remembers how she infl uenced the modernising of the Society. He said, ' Until the mid 1960' s all the services to residents of Pilgrim Homes were free. As a Health Visitor Ruth knew how Social Services operated and how they were beginning, then, to contribute to the cost of residential care. I have always understood that Ruth took the lead in the task of bringing the Society into the 20th century and she felt it could not be done by maintaining a free service. It was around then that resident fees were introduced and those unable to meet the full cost were able to obtain their fi nance from their Local Authority. And I have little doubt of her ability to infl uence the Committee at that time. It was a time of development of the services for the elderly and APFS became part of that development. Without that development I wonder if the Society would exist today!' Ruth at her fi nal retirement, at head offi ce

Ruth Edwards 18 Ruth retired offi cially from Pilgrim Homes in 1979, but continued to serve on different committees, and provided the refreshments for General Committee and many head offi ce head offi ce events. Ruth the mentor Life without Ruth would have been very different for former home manager, Brenda Kyte. Brenda knew Ruth for over 32 years. ' She was the fi rst matron I knew when I came to work for Pilgrim Homes,' she said, ' She was my mentor. We gelled the minute we met. I loved her straight ways: she was somebody I could look up to. She was very, very good to us younger ones, and so spiritually on the ball. She was as fair as they came. In those days we lived in, and she was hot on us having meals. She said it was heavy work. She worked hard, and played hard. In the evenings she'd take us around all sorts of places. We'd have a big walk and a coffee in St. James' Park late at night. We'd go up to Fleet Street and have a Dunking Donut, and at 9.30 the news people would come in - it was just great fun.' Ruth went to live in a sheltered fl at at Leonora after Brenda retired, and when Brenda helped out with the occasional night shift she would go into the main home at around 10.00 o'clock, when everything was quiet for the night, and they would talk until one or two in the morning. ' We went through the good old days, chatting non-stop,' Brenda remembered. ' She was a big part of my life.' Ruth was ' small in stature, but large in character', said Pastor Shaw, and whenever she touched a life in a big or small way, she left an indelible mark. She is remembered for her forthrightness, her humour, her integrity and spiritual qualities, her dedication to whatever she applied herself to, and her kindness and willingness to help. She would be delighted to know that an article she wrote for the Quarterly allows her to have the last word. She said, ' Looking back, I can truthfully say the happiest period of my life was the time spent working in the Pilgrim Homes. My own spiritual life was greatly enhanced by the company of the elderly Christians I cared for. When going on a holiday I would visit those who were unwell and failing in health and say, " I hope when I return you will be up and about." They would always smile and say something like, " But if I'm gone you know where I will be and one day I'll meet you there." They would look so content about it that I would marvel and think, " O death, where is thy sting?"' ' They would look so content about it that I would marvel and think, " O death, where is thy sting?"'