|
Obituaries
We seem to have lost several key faithful leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal over the last few months and we thought it would be good to acknowledge their passing.
|
|
|
MERLE SUTCLIFFE - Merle, who had struggled bravely with cancer for many years, died on May 18th. She was a larger than life character, who was there for everyone she met and a great listener. The Charismatic Renewal was for her a joy which gave deep meaning to her life. She had great organisation skills and was soon a member of the Leeds diocesan service team, helping organise events. For many years she played a key part in the Ampleforth Community taking responsibility for organising their monthly Days of Renewal and the annual conference. She was a long time member of St Matthew's parish and her parish priest Fr Canice McGinn spoke movingly at her requiem at how valued she was in the parish. In recent years she was Leeds diocesan contact for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Three days before she died, realising she was not going to get better this time, she nominated Dolores Omand, as her replacement to carry on with this job. FR RAY BECK - The chaplain to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Plymouth diocese died peacefully in his sleep on 8th May, four days before his 92nd birthday. A great friend and champion of charismatic renewal and ecumenism he was born on the day of Pentecost in 1913. An Anglican priest for many years, he served all over the country and spent 25 years as the vicar of St John's in Taunton, where his interest in charismatic renewal and ecumenism developed. Both he and his wife Monica were members of the Anglican Church synod for a number of years. Upon retirement Ray and Monica moved to Devon where they set up a small retreat house called "The Shepherd's House" at East Prawle near Kingsbridge. In 1990 they both converted to Roman Catholicism and in 1996 Fr Ray was ordained a Roman Catholic priest and became chaplain to the CCR in the Plymouth diocese. During this time the couple were active members of the DST, supporting days of renewal and conferences. Bishop Christopher Budd concelebrated his requiem Mass with 40 priests from across the diocese before a packed congregation at Totnes. The eulogy, given by Fr David White, a priest of the Melkite-Greek Catholic Church living in the Plymouth diocese, who was once Fr Ray's curate at Taunton in the 1950's, was full of wonderful memories of a man who was much loved and will be greatly missed. CLIFF FALKUS - Cliff, from Leigh on Sea in Essex, died on 23rd May aged 75. A founder member of the Brentwood Diocesan Service team, he had been a faithful member of the team for 25 years. He had a bad back due to a childhood accident but this did not stop his zest for life. A man of many talents, he was an accomplished pianist and tennis player. He was studying for the diaconate, and had completed his second year, when his health began to fail and he was forced to stop. The resulting operation on his back was unsuccessful, and he was left paralysed and confined to a wheelchair. Even this didn't hold him back and he had a special vehicle, which he called his "nippy", which he would roll his wheelchair into, so get about. He was a committed to his parish and helped with running CAF? and Alpha courses as well as holding a bible study in his home. A very warm personality, he always had younger people around him and was very concerned with their formation. He was particularly concerned to promote the gift of prophecy, which he felt was essential for the growth of the Church and the CCR. A familiar face at many Charismatic Renewal events, until last autumn when his health took a turn for the worse. For the last nine months of his life his health was very bad and he had respiratory failure three times but came through, before, his lungs and his heart eventually gave way. Many of his friends came to give tribute to him at his funeral on 2nd June.
|
||
 |