View source for Colin Morris (Methodist minister)

{{Short description|British Christian minister (1929–2018)}}
{{Infobox person
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| image =
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| birth_date = 13 January 1929
| birth_place = [[Bolton]], England
| death_date ={{Death date and age|df=y|2018|5|20|1929|1|13}}
| death_place =
| module =
{{Infobox clergy | child=yes
| religion =
| church = [[Methodist Church of Great Britain]]
}}
| module2 =
{{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes
|office           = [[President of the Methodist Conference]]
|term_start       = 1976
|term_end         = 1977
|vicepresident    = Dr Cyril J Bennett
|predecessor      = Alfred Raymond George
|successor        = B. Arthur Shaw
}}
}}
{{Methodism}}
'''Colin Manley Morris''' (13 January 1929 – 20 May 2018) was an English [[Methodism|Methodist]] [[minister of religion|minister]], author, and broadcaster. Born into a mining family in a village near [[Bolton]],<ref name="theguardian">{{cite news|last1=Golding|first1=Rosalind|title=Daily thoughts for a reluctant capitalist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2000/oct/29/observercashsection.theobserver8|accessdate=7 October 2014|work=theguardian.com|publisher=The Observer|date=29 October 2000}}</ref> after his ordination he served the Methodist Church in [[Northern Rhodesia]] for fifteen years.<ref name="theguardian" /> He stood out for racial integration within the church, became a close friend of the leader of the independence movement, [[Kenneth Kaunda]], and was closely involved in the formation of the [[United Church in Zambia]] soon after the country became independent.<ref>[http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1107387021 UCZ celebrates 40 years of union] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012183010/http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1107387021 |date=2006-10-12 }}, ''Times of Zambia'', January 2005</ref> He always espoused an explicitly anti-racist and [[socialism|socialist]] position and argued that it represents the "authentic spirit" of Christianity. He died on 20 May 2018 at the age of 89.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web |url=http://subscriber.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/05/22/rev-dr-colin-morris-methodist-minister-obituary/ |title=The Rev Dr Colin Morris, Methodist minister – obituary |date=May 22, 2018 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |accessdate=May 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180524070625/http://subscriber.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/05/22/rev-dr-colin-morris-methodist-minister-obituary/ |archive-date=May 24, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
After returning from Zambia, Morris occupied prominent positions in British Methodism, becoming first the superintendent minister of [[Wesley's Chapel]] in London,<ref name="theguardian" /> and subsequently General Secretary of the Church's Overseas Division. He was [[List of Presidents of the Methodist Conference|President of the Methodist Conference]], elected in July 1976 and serving for the customary year term.<ref>[http://www.mymethodisthistory.org.uk/page/presidents_of_the_conference_since_1932?path=0p3p81p mymethodisthistory.org.uk Presidents of The Conference since 1932] Accessed 7 September 2014</ref>
From early in his career, Morris was a regular speaker on the ''[[Thought for the Day]]'' segment of the [[BBC Radio 4]] morning programme ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'', with a radical perspective and an instantly recognisable voice.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morris|first1=Colin|title=God in the shower : thoughts from Thought for the Day|date=2002|publisher=Macmillan|location=London|isbn=978-0333904893}}</ref> For a period in 1971 he withdrew from the programme in protest against alleged representations by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] [[Parliamentary Whip|Whips]] against his criticism on the programme of the party's immigration policy as un-Christian, an incident that caused questions to be asked in the [[House of Lords]].<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1971/mar/24/religious-broadcasting-dr-colin-morris Hansard, 24 March 1971, Lords Sitting]: Religious Broadcasting, Dr Colin Morris</ref>  He was still contributing to ''Thought for the Day'' in 2010.
In 1978 Morris left the ordinary work of the Methodist ministry to work for the BBC, as head of TV Religious Programmes.<ref name="theguardian" />  He subsequently held the posts of Head of Religious Broadcasting, Special Advisor to the [[Director-General of the BBC|Director-General]], and Controller of [[BBC Northern Ireland]].  After retiring from management within the BBC he continued to broadcast, presenting numerous religious programmes. From 1991 to 1996 he served as Director of the Centre for Religious Communication in Oxford.
As well as his broadcasting work, Morris was a prolific author of books and [[pamphlet]]s. Most of his published work reflected either his experience as a white missionary in black Africa, or as an ordained minister working as a professional broadcaster.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
==Published books==
*''Out of Africa’s Crucible. Sermons from Central Africa''.  Lutterworth, 1960.
*''Black government? A discussion between Colin Morris and Kenneth Kaunda.''  United Society for Christian Literature, 1960.
*''The Hour after Midnight. A missionary’s experiences of the racial and political struggle in Northern Rhodesia.''  Longman, 1961.
*''Church and Challenge in a New Africa: Political sermons''.  Epworth Press, 1964.
*''Include me out! Confessions of an ecclesiastical coward''.  Epworth Press, 1968; Fontana, 1975.
*''Unyoung, uncoloured, unpoor''.  Epworth Press, 1969.
*''Mankind my church''.  Hodder & Stoughton, 1971.
*''What the papers didn’t say, and other broadcast talks''.  Epworth Press, 1971.
*''Epistles to the Apostle: Tarsus-please forward.'' Hodder & Stoughton, 1972.
*''The hammer of the Lord: Sign of hope.'' Epworth Press, 1973.
*''Word and the Words : The Voigt Lectures on Preaching.'' Epworth Press, 1975.
*''Bugles in the afternoon''.  Epworth Press, 1977.
*''Get through till nightfall''.  Fount, 1979.
*''God-in-a-box: Christian strategy in the television age.'' Hodder & Stoughton, 1984.
*''A week in the life of God''.  Epworth Press, 1986.
*''Wrestling with an angel''.  Collins Fount, 1990.
*''God in the shower: thoughts from Today.'' Macmillan, 2002.
*''Things shaken - things unshaken : reflections on faith and terror''. Epworth Press, 2006.
*''Bullet point beliefs: The best of Colin Morris'' (Edited by Rosemary Foxcroft).  Canterbury Press, 2007
==Works about Colin Morris==
*''A Humanist in Africa. Letters to Colin M. Morris from Kenneth D. Kaunda.''.  Longman, 1966.
*Charlton, L.  ''Spark in the stubble: Dr Morris of Zambia''.  Epworth Press, 1969.
==References==
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[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:English Methodist ministers]]
[[Category:Clergy from Bolton]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Methodist Conference]]
[[Category:20th-century English Methodist ministers]]
[[Category:21st-century English Methodist ministers]]