An Interview with Ossie Klass
We are part way through a short series of blogs in which I am interviewing a number of key leaders from within our black community and celebrating the skills, talent, faith and hard work they bring to King’s. Today, I’d like to introduce you to Ossie Klass, who is a Trustee and Elder at King’s.
Can you tell us a bit about your background, education and work experience?
I was born and grew up in Guyana, a country on the northern tip of South America. I am the youngest of five children and the only boy. My family moved from the countryside to the capital city Georgetown when I was about five years old. Both of my parents became head teachers, and educational achievement was very important in our household as my parents encouraged us to “do better in life than they did”. As a family we went to church every Sunday and my parents instilled in us a strong work ethic, sense of morality and fair play.
My primary education in Guyana was at a Catholic school and I attended an all-boys secondary school. After leaving school I started studying for my professional accountancy qualifications while working, and later came to England to study for my final examinations. After passing my finals I soon realised that as an immigrant, my earning ability was significantly less than contemporary British-born, newly qualified accountants at that time and that I needed something else to make myself more marketable. I therefore embarked on gaining a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) which revolutionised my thinking about organisations and has helped to open doors to employment opportunities ever since.
I spent my early years in England in Brixton, where the kindness of an aunt who took me into her home helped me to remain in England when I ran out of money. While in Brixton I met my wife Andrea at the local Baptist church I was attending. We have three children and celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary this year.
I have been blessed to have had managerial and financial leadership roles in private accountancy practice, local government, charities and housing organisations over the past 33 years. I am currently the Director of Finance, IT and People of a retirement village in Surrey.
How long have you been at King’s and in what capacity do you serve?
I have attended King’s with my family since 2009, and I have served in the worship and Alpha teams over many years. I also serve as a Trustee and Elder of King’s.
What do you like about King's?
From the very first day I walked into the auditorium at Catford and saw the Guyanese flag hanging on the wall (the flags of many nations represented at King’s hung on the walls in those days), I felt at home and soon realised that I’d come to a church that was diverse and one where everyone was invited. I feel privileged to be part of such a diverse church community.
Also on that first day someone explained to Andrea and me about the children’s work and took our three children off to their various groups. I like the fact that King’s continues to be a warm and welcoming community.
I like the emphasis on being a missional church where the Word and Spirit are held in balance.
What are your hopes for our next series around the issue of diversity?
My hopes for the series are that:
• we would continue to develop as a community at ease with itself and a ‘safe place’ to discuss issues of diversity;
• we would continue to develop Biblical lenses through which we filter the sometimes very complex and highly emotional diversity issues of our day;
• God continues to fill our hearts with a genuine love and acceptance of each other.
Many thanks to Ossie for taking time out of his busy life to answer my questions. In a large multi-site church such as King’s it can be difficult to know all our key leaders and staff, and I hope you are finding this current series helpful and interesting. We are blessed to have so many gifted individuals willing to offer their time and talents to serve us.
