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 .

Milestones

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.

St James, Bushey  parish website