On 24 July, Dr Kathleen Berger was called home aged 98.
Kathleen Berger trained as a doctor and entered the Army in WWII, rising to the rank of Captain. When she was demobbed she joined the Bermondsey Medical Mission. After the war, new housing estates were built in the London suburbs and people were moved out. With no GP practices in the area, people would walk miles back into Bermondsey. In 1950, Dr Berger was asked to become the family doctor to the Coppice Estate in Petts Wood, south east London.
Healing and preaching
Dr Berger had a real love for people and as much as she wanted to heal the sick, she was just as anxious to preach the Kingdom of God. Within a short time she was running activities for young people on Sundays and throughout the week from her doctor’s surgery. A Sunday School opened. As the work among the young people was progressing, some of their parents wanted to come along and so Dr Berger opened up her home too.
Numbers grew so rapidly that in 1954 the Bermondsey Medical Mission provided her with a hall in which to start a church. In 1967 a new building was erected alongside and became the church while the old building became the church hall.
Youth work in her 80s
Dr Berger served Coppice Community Church faithfully over the years and was well into her 80s when she gave up running the youth club! Many of the young people developed a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and have served in various ways in the UK and all over the world.
Kathleen Berger was a person of principle and great faith. She did not suffer fools gladly; at times she was quite abrupt. She had a heart of gold and was always on the lookout for people she could help, which she did with extreme generosity.
