20260131 Leslie Holmes

The guest speaker at the Men’s Breakfast Fellowship in the Peter Good Hall was Mr Leslie Holmes from Dungannon. An undertaker by trade he has been a Christian for most of his adult life following a conversion experience as a young man. Now a writer and witness for Christ, he was warmly welcomed by John Buchanan.

Following an excellent breakfast prepared and served by Gordon and Barbara Moore, John opened the meeting in prayer and led those present in an uplifting rendition of  “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” He shared a reflection from his daily readings guide that “Each day of your life is a gift.”

Leslie’s talk was essentially an account of his faith journey from boyhood to present day. One of his slides was from a schoolbook in which he had written, at the age of 5, that, when he grew up, he wanted to drive a hearse just like his Dad and bury people. In later years, his desire to go faster took him into motor sport and rallying. On leaving the Royal School, Dungannon he began his training as an undertaker with Brown’s in Belfast a respected firm of Funeral Directors. It was 1969 and the outbreak of “The Troubles”. At the age 17 he assisted at the funeral of the first RUC Officer to be murdered in Belfast. It was an experience which still lives in his memory, undimmed by the countless other funerals he has undertaken.

As a young man Leslie was so often in church for funerals that he felt he did not need to go to church. But he still felt a need and found the answer in Matthew 11.28  “Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Leslie propounded that we have a God shaped hole inside us which we try to fill, and which will remain empty until we answer God’s call.

In more recent times Leslie has begun a ministry of words by writing and publishing a set of booklets. On the cover of each it says, “I’ve been aware of the reality of death most of my life and this has prompted me to share my story”. Leslie collaborates with James Beattie from our own church in promoting the work of the Gideons. At the close of his talk, he was warmly applauded, before John Buchanan closed the meeting in prayer.