CBC chair Olave Snelling pays tribute to Rosalind Irving who was a very dear friend of CBC for decades. Her husband Robert, was Vice President of CBC for many years. Ros was part of CBC’s ‘Prayer for the Media’ for a very long time. She passed away from Covid and pneumonia at the end of October. Her funeral was held on Thursday 23rd November 2023.
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
These wonderful words from Psalm 18 could have been written for Ros Irving. Throughout her life, she and dear Rob, her beloved husband with whom she is now joyfully reunited, lived in that reality.
Rob was for many, many years the Vice President of CBC, the Christian Broadcasting Council, and he and Ros were always there at every meeting with those wonderful smiles and words of encouragement on their lips and in exactly the same mode at Conference time each year. A truly remarkable couple out of whom the light of God literally shone.
For those of us who gathered every month for ‘Prayer for the Media’, in person for many years at the home of Premier Radio in Vauxhall and since COVID via Zoom, we knew and loved Ros, the intercessor. Nothing daunted by distance, she would be at Premier Radio at the appointed time of 7.30 pm having traveled to London by train from Winchester. And I would give her a lift to Waterloo to catch the train back home, very often very late at night. This didn’t seem to daunt her at all! She was a most remarkable woman of God and it was always such a joy and a thrill to hear her pray into the multiplicity of media, national, sometimes international and personal issues we felt led to address.
It was also such a wonderful thing to hear of the times when she was confronted with huge personal health problems, like cancer (at least three times I think), and in faith hung on in there in prayer and received complete healing. She was a woman of great faith and in times of testing she knew how to press into God. With the Lord and Christian friends at her side, she would pray with courage to face each day, knowing that God is ever-present and all-powerful.
Ros was a great Christian, witnessing all the time to those whom she encountered in her daily life, including taxi drivers, shop keepers, train conductors and anyone she came across, not excluding the clergy and people in the congregation at Winchester Cathedral where she went every day for Communion. She just loved talking about Christ, her precious Lord and Saviour!
Oh, how we miss her lovely shining face, her laughter, her sheer friendliness, her love of people, her beauty, her naturalness, her excellent taste. What an amazing life! It’s wonderful to think of her with Rob and most of all with the Lord himself! Good night, Rosie darling. See you in the morning!
Ever so much love,
Olave. Miggs, Debbie, Gareth, Cigdem, Stephen and many more
CBC Prayer for the Media
