Farewell, Father! This page provides links to
the various pages of words and pictures which record
the closing days of Fr Neil Kelley's time as vicar
of the United Benefice of St Faith, Great Crosby and
St Mary the Virgin, Waterloo Park and the events of
his Collation as Rector of Bushey, in the Diocese of
St Albans, Hertfordshire, which took place on
Monday, July 23rd, 2012 at 7.00 pm.
Follow the links... In the weeks between the
announcement of Fr Neil's move and the journey to see
him collated, a series of pages were prepared under the
heading 'Milestones from a Ministry, charting the
highlights of each year of his incumbency from 1999 to
2012 .
St James,
Bushey parish websiteMilestones The final three days of Fr Neil's ministry at St Faith's and St Mary's were marked by a series of events and services, including a final recital and a farewell party and presentation. Three Days to Remember As a prelude to a forthcoming DVD of music from St Faith's, Fr Neil recorded (with the church choir) a rendering of the Song of Farewell as often performed at St Faith's funerals and of his solo singing of 'Were you there..?', which had formed the final part of the liturgy at Good Friday devotions. The final verse was uploaded before he left: the choir will complete the recording of various other items in the autumn. Were you there...? On Monday, July 23rd, 2012, a large contingent of the northern faithful travelled down to Bushey to attend the service at which Fr Neil would finally cease to be vicar of the United Benefice and become Rector of Bushey. Chris Price gives an account of the proceedings. The Day we went to Bushey He also took lots of pictures of the event, starting with a stop-off at St Albans, through refreshments at Bushey, to the service of Collation itself and the subsequent mandatory junketings. There are two sets of photos, with the first giving a link to the second. Bright-eyed and Bushey-tailed Fr Neil has promised (threatened?) to keep up-to-date with our progress during the interregnum, so in return here is a link to the website of his new parish. |