Narrators Profile

Mrs Alice Gabrielle Shaw (Gaye)

Born in 1920 to a godly, self-sacrificing mother who came from a long line of Anglican clergy, Gaye Shaw had a professional opera singer for a father and he passed on his considerable musical talent to his daughter.

Gaye’s introduction to the Seventh-day Adventist faith came when she, together with her mother and sister, attended an evangelistic campaign run in 1938 by Pastor Mustard in her home town of Folkestone.  A large screen held the words “The Seventh Day is The Sabbath” and Gaye’s mother said, “You can’t argue with that”, and left her name for literature.  The three ladies became founder members of the Folkestone church – although Pastor Mustard has his doubts about Gaye because she liked ballroom dancing (in which she had just reached professional standard) and sporting activities! 

In 1939 Gaye decided to go to Newbold College for the Bible Worker course and spent the summer canvassing ‘Bible Certainties’ to raise enough funds to pay her way.  The impending war intervened, however, and all the orders failed.  Gaye’s plans were rescued by the generosity of her mother and the other members of the Folkestone church who joined forces to provide the £20 registration fee.  Gaye departed for Newbold with the princely sum of ten shillings (50 pence in today’s money) in her pocket.

During holiday periods Gaye had briefly met a young intern minister in her home church.  On her return home they became ‘better acquainted’.  Gaye was greatly impressed by this young man, Leslie Shaw, who was so obviously 100% dedicated to his calling from God and they married in 1942.  Much of Folkstone had been evacuated, being declared a ‘War Zone’ and Pastor W W Armstrong needed police permission and oversight to enter the town to marry them.  This he did in a borrowed Methodist chapel in between the Sunday services – the Adventist church had been closed due to the war.  The day after the wedding they went back to Bristol where Leslie was assisting Pastor Dorland and at seven o’clock the following day they were going door-to-door with handbills for an evangelistic campaign.

This set the tone for the next 32 years as Gaye faithfully assisted Leslie in his ministry until his retirement.  Along the way they had 13 house moves and 3 beloved children.  Gaye also obtained her Licentiate from the Royal Academy of Music and a BA from the Open University and became a teacher.  Thus she partially fulfilled in both ways her mother’s prediction that she would be either the Head of a large girls’ school or a bishop’s wife!

Gaye used her musical talent for the Lord, singing and playing in evangelistic campaigns and in each of the churches to which they were sent.  She also had a great interest in Youth work in the church, becoming a Master Guide herself, encouraging all three children to become Master Guides, and developing the work wherever they went. 

Gaye’s faith and joy in her Lord have survived the cruelly early death of her son, the decline and death of Leslie, the ravages of cancer on her face and several joint replacements due to arthritis.

‘The Listening Ministry’ was started in 1998.   Funded entirely by herself and making a loss on each tape she sold, Gabrielle made it her mission to record Ellen G White’s books onto audio tape.  Working many hundreds of hours she eventually recorded 27 of Mrs White’s books plus two books by Roy Allan Anderson and also a book on the fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church of which she is a faithful mainstream member.

In 2007, at the age of 87, Gaye is still witnessing for Jesus.  She walks the streets putting out invitations to Bible courses, prophecy CDs and DVDs; sends Life.info, Focus and other magazines to friends and family; spreads Christian material around “like autumn leaves” and shows by her life and actions that her main aim in living is to tell people about the love of God for them.