John Faber (1925-2009) was the Secretary of the Oxford Group from 1982 to 1986, the Christian charity that ran campaigns for 'moral and spiritual rearmament'. He and his wife, Jeanne, saw their role as one of pastoral care for the many volunteers who gave their services to MRA.
Educated at the Nautical College (now Pangbourne College) in Pangbourne, Berkshire, in the 1930s, he served as an officer in the Indian Navy during World War Two. Back in London he joined an advertising agency, but on encountering MRA, he resigned from his job in order to 'advertise change'. He returned to India many times to support Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, in his campaigns for a 'clean, strong and united' democracy. This took John to the MRA centre in the hill resort of Panchgani near Pune.
He published several books under his own imprint, including Fear or Faith, a moving anthology of people's attitudes towards death. A fine typographer, John had a love for the design of the printed page. But his greatest gift was to encourage selflessly the talents of those who took on the mantle of print design and publishing in his footsteps, and to encourage people in their journey towards a faith. He died of a heart attack in 2009 shortly after rescuing a young girl from the sea in Littlehampton. He was battered against a breakwater and the incident left him severely shaken. He is survived by Jeanne and their daughter Susan.
