Father Keith's Farewell

Sunday 29th June was Fr. Keith's final Sunday service here at St. Peter's, which was appropriate in that it was at Petertide some 22 years ago he joined us as Rector of Ash. After 35 years serving as a parish Priest, Fr. Keith will be taking some well-earned time off as he slips into retirement and begins to look forward to what God has planned for him. Priests never truly retire, they just take a different direction in ministry!

We would like to thank Fr. Keith for his faithful and committed, love and care given to the whole of the Parish. We know that all those whom he has Baptised, Married and walked alongside during their time of bereavement, will have experienced his empathy, kindness and support. His caring and sensitive approach touched many people's lives.

We would also like to say thank him for the outreach through his work in all of the schools in Ash, but particularly for the many years he served as a Governor at both the Walsh Schools. He always delighted in what the children were doing and loved the random questions they would ask him about God and faith.

We, the congregation of St. Peter's church would like to thank him too, for all of the above, for his dedication to his faith, and the encouragement he gave to others on their journey with Jesus. Let's not forget too the wonderful social times we all spent together, where there was much fun and laughter, bringing people and joy together. Fr. Keith has a great sense of humour and this shone through particularly when he performed in some of the pantomimes put on by the drama group here at St. Peter's.

So we bid him farewell. We pray that God will continue to bless Fr. Keith richly in a long and very happy retirement. We shall miss seeing you around the parish.