45 year old Jeremy Pentreath, Head teacher, grandad and bishop of the Ipswich congregation was recently honoured with an invitation to visit No 10 Downing Street. Bishop Pentreath was invited by his local MP, Ben Gummer, Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education, after several visits to his school and to a Sacrament meeting at the Ipswich chapel.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
After joining a few other local constituents Bishop Pentreath was given a tour of the Houses of Parliament and then onto the Prime Minister’s official residence in Downing Street. During the visit the Prime Minister himself came into the room, “As one of the guides was telling a story of the leather chairs instituted by Disraeli, who should burst through the door but the Prime Minister himself, saying something like, 'Who's been snooping around my home then.' I was so shocked, that I did the thing that felt most natural and stood up. I really felt as if I was in the presence of someone very special. He had real presence and was physically quite imposing” remarks Bishop Pentreath.
After touring No 10, including the famous grand staircase adorned with a signed photograph of each previous Prime Minister, the tour finished in the Cabinet room. Bishop Pentreath commented, “A great day that will live long in the memory. My overwhelming impression was just how hard our Prime Ministers and their families work for the country. Their time is not their own. As we were sitting in the 'white room', where Mr Cameron greets heads of state, we were told of the frequent receptions hosted by No 10 for various charities, many of them in the evening. It really is a labour of love!”