Leading this week's Mission '93 at St. John's Parish Church is Father Andrew Mead from Boston.

Rector of Pembroke, Father Ewen Ratteray says the teaching mission is going well, with an encouraging number of parishioners attending the nightly sessions.

There will be two final events tomorrow, Parish Day, when Fr. Mead preaches at the Eucharist service, commencing at 10.30 a.m.

Then at 6 p.m. he will be the speaker at New Hymns of Praise. The massed choirs of the diocese will be conducted by Fr. Brian Melbourne with William Duncan at the organ and Andrew Ridgeway at the piano.

Fr. Meade, who conducted a "retreat'' for Bermuda clergymen two years ago, comes to Bermuda with a wealth of evangelical experience.

He presently serves as rector at the Church of the Advent in Boston but is actively involved in the work of the Evangelical and Catholic Mission, the Society of Holy Cross, the Catholic Clerical Union and the St. Michael's Conference for Young People.

Born in Rochester, New York, Fr. Mead received his Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School and in 1973, was awarded his Master of Letters from Oxford University.

But the decision to become a priest probably surprised him more than anyone else.

"I was one of those young student radical-types back in the '60's when I was at college, and definitely a non-believer. I decided that I needed to study what I thought were the title deeds of Christ in order to refute them!'' But, of course, it was while he was conducting his study that, as he describes it, "I ran into the founder of Christianity''.

The encounter was to change the course of his life. At that point he had been studying to become a journalist and was already editor of his college newspaper.

`I think there was this great need when I was at college for me to try and discover the meaning of life. I re-discovered the faith I had learned as a kid from Mom and Dad. Thank heavens, before they died, I was able to tell them that.'' Proclaiming that "the gospel is good news'' and that it gives him a reason for getting up in the morning: "I get up because Christ got up on Easter morning,'' he beams.

And if Fr. Mead's mother was surprised at his decision to go into the church, his former Sunday School teacher was not: "Oh yes, I've always thought Andrew would be a minister,'' was her reaction.

Fr. Mead, who is married with two children, counts skiing, sailing, fishing and music amongst his non-ecclesiastical hobbies. He is also an ardent Boston Red Sox fan.

He says that his favourite Christian heroes who are currently living are Pope John Paul II, Russian author Alexander Solszhenitsin and Mother Teresa.

Fr. Mead is looking forward to tomorrow's hymn-singing session because "most of all, I love great hymns''.

MISSION '93 -- Father Ewen Ratteray, left, with Father Andrew Mead of Boston, who is conducting Mission '93.