Personal Information
Named Robert George Corder by my parents, I am generally known as Rob. I am an ordained Presbyterian Minister. Although officially retired, in practice I remain active and when COVID is not around, I preach several times a month in various churches as needed.
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- Born in Queenstown (now Komani)(Eastern Cape, South Africa -1939).
- Matriculated at Queens College Queenstown (1956).
- Studied at the Bible Institute of South Africa (1965/66)
- Married Shirley Millar Geddes in Gwelo, Rhodesia (now Gweru Zimbabwe)(1967)
- Became a dad for the first time when our daughter, Debbie, was born in Johannesburg. (1968)
- Ordained into the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (1969)
- Our first son, Stephen, was born in Cape Town. (1971)
- Our third and final offspring, David, was born in Kimberley. (1975)
- Obtained a Bachelor of Theology degree from the University of South Africa (1980).
- Retired from the pastoral ministry (2006).
- We are now happily living in a retirement village in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) South Africa, praise God, still in good health.
- Our three children are all happily married, faithfully follow the Lord, and have given us four grandsons and two granddaughters
Pastoral Ministry
During 36 years of full-time pastoral ministry, I pastored the following Presbyterian congregations:
- Bridgetown, Cape Town (Western Cape),
- St Andrew’s Beaconsfield, Kimberley (Northern Cape).
- Hatfield, Harare, Zimbabwe (formerly Salisbury, Rhodesia).
- Cambridge, East London (Eastern Cape),
- Krugersdorp, Gauteng (formerly Witwatersrand).
- Elgin United Church, (Presbyterian & Congregational) Grabouw (Western Cape).
Present activities
Although I retired from the full-time ministry in 2006 I have continued to preach in churches around our city as well as in the nearby seaside town of Jeffrey’s Bay (about an hour away). However, with the Covid-19 pandemic, these preaching engagements came to an abrupt halt so I busied myself with this series of reflections on the prophecy of Habakkuk. I found them to be most appropriate, especially in view of the major problems as a result of the horrific Coronavirus.
With the lockdown regulations being eased off I have once again become active in preaching at two Presbyterian congregations in the city. After well over a year that series on the prophecy of Habakkuk has come to an end. At present am busy on a new series titled ‘Encounter with Jesus’. reflecting on a number of bible personalities who had an encounter with Jesus during His earthly ministry.
Until the end of 2019, both Shirley and I were involved in the Happy Echoes Choir, a group of approximately 30 retired persons, which was really like a large musical family. We produced around 25 concerts a year at local retirement villages, social clubs and church senior’s groups. We had to go into recess suddenly as a result of lockdown, but remain in touch through a Whatsapp group.
When not preparing sermons or devotions I enjoy building model ships, oil painting, jigsaw puzzles, and the challenge of Sudoku.
My wife, Shirley, is a published author, and you can see more about her on her website, Write to Inspire, of which this one is a subdomain.
