You may already be aware that we are losing a Sunbury stalwart. Father Paul Davies will be leaving his post of vicar of St Mary’s Sunbury in mid April to take off to warmer climes. He has been appointed to a role in Doha, Qatar.
Father Paul is a very approachable, very normal bloke. I see him at the gym, a regular guy keeping fit. I went to see him at the church one day and was greeting with mellifluous tones of Celtic music from Isla which filled the nave. He appeared from the back of the church in chinos, hands in pockets, chewing gum. Just a normal bloke enjoying music.
He is far from “just a normal bloke” however and he will be leaving a lasting legacy in Sunbury.
His attitude towards the church and the community of Sunbury is to make the church open and accessible to all; believers and non believers alike. He has introduced the Congregation, as a community, to levels of involvement that probably surprised them, both individually and collectively arranging Retreats, Pimms parties, Paella evening and hospitality after evening services.
St Mary’s Church has become the heart of Lower Sunbury, transformed on occasions into a painting and craft studio for primary schools in the form of Messy Church, hosting a giant Maypole on another occasion and been turned into exhibition space for art and history. Members of the Community have been known to comment “how lucky you are to have such outwardly looking Vicar”.
Father Paul has been described as “a frantically energetic and creative dynamo, driven by a passionate determination to draw folk into the love of God”.
Anyone who has had anything to do with him will also describe him as a very enthusiastic networker who tends to involve anyone he meets. With a flash of a smile and a glint of the eye all of a sudden you find yourself drawn into his projects. The words “whirlwind”, “fun” and “resourcefulness” come up when people are asked about him.
There are many stories of his love of recycling, checking out what there may be of use in a skip, or purloining articles due to be discarded by others at the dump. He clearly loved finding bargains. His wife Sally ended up forbidding him from visiting the Nauticalia permanent sale!
Members of the church community have commented on the Retreats he organised, where they had the time and space to get to know one another more deeply, and which helped them to explore more fully their spiritual lives. “We have learnt a lot from Fr Paul and hope that we are better people for it.” said one. Another commented “my first delightful memory of him was dressed in cassock, miming being a kangaroo to the children’s hymn ‘if I were a butterfly’,etc.
“Shall we miss him? Oh yes, for many reasons. Not all good, we often grumbled too much….but there will never be another quite like Paul” We say thanks for the memories and wish you well Father Paul.