Thank God that I'm leaving ... minister gives his old parish a few home truths
Pastor Dale Morgan
Thank God that I'm leaving ... minister gives his old parish a few home
truths*
FRANK URQUHART
The Scotsman.
CHURCH members flicking through a parish newsletter expect to learn the
latest on births and marriages and how much their coffee morning raised.
So the congregation of St Devenick's Church in the Aberdeen suburb of
Bieldside were astonished when they opened this month's bulletin to read
a vitriolic attack on the flock in a letter from their departing minister.
The Rev Edmund Marquis-Faulkes, 45, stepped down on Sunday, leaving
behind a congregation in turmoil where many of the top lay officials
have quit their posts and numbers have dwindled from 300 to 40 during
his time with the tiny parish.
And as a parting shot, he chose his final newsletter to condemn
"disruptive" members of the church who forced him out of the post by
complaining about the lives his three children led.
He declared it was: "A great shame then that there is a very small
number of you in this congregation who are determined to undermine the
good that is done in the spiritual life and fellowship of the church by
not just members of the ministry team but also those among you who have
done the most for the spiritual and temporal life of the congregation.
"The fact that this small group has continued to disrupt the life of the
church despite the intervention of the Dean, the Primus and a
professional mediator now means that our organist, our administrator,
our youth worker, our fair-trade co-ordinator, our magazine editor and
treasurer as well as your rector to name but a few have decided they can
no longer continue."
Last night the minister could not be reached to expand on his remarks.
Yesterday one source close to the church said: "We are glad to see the
back of him but we cannot believe that he has decided to end his time
here like this. What he has written is completely untrue, unprofessional
and, worst of all, ungodly."
June MacCormack, the vestry secretary and Deaconess at St Devenick's,
said last night: "The only thing I would say is that Edmund decided a
while ago to pursue a career in education.
His last day as our rector was on Sunday and many people were sad to see
him go. Warm appreciation was expressed of his ministry during his time
with us and there was a presentation at the end of the service."
Last night Bishop Richard Holloway, a former primus of the Episcopal
Church in Scotland, said new ministers could face problems being
accepted. "It's a bit like marrying a widow or a divorcee and inheriting
the children and all the shared memories," he said.