I conducted a family wedding in Donegal in August in an attractive Church of Ireland building in Ballyshannon. Afterwards, at a hotel reception, overlooking the Atlantic, one of the guests told me his godfather was the late Revd Nicolas Stacey. Mention of that name reminded me of the considerable influence which
Nick Stacey had in the church when I was doing theological college training,
45 years ago. His name was often mentioned - sometimes in pulpits -
along with Bishop John Robinson and the Revd Eric James, as an example
of that group of post-war ordinands whose influence reinvigorated the C of E
in its parishes, particularly in Southwark Diocese.
When
I got home, I had a look online and found a second hand copy of Stacey's 1971 autobiography, 'Who Cares'. He's candid, direct and principled in what he writes, and one
can see how he was a bit of a Marmite figure amongst his
colleagues, with some being fired up by his drive and commitment, and
others finding his ideas too radical to handle. Reading his book now is a
reminder that actually, so many of his ideas have become standard practice
in the C of E - amalgamating parishes, sharing resources, concentrating
on sector ministries rather than expecting a vicar to be good at doing the whole lot by herself, single-handedly, including youth work, visiting the elderly, fundraising, administration, preaching, leading committees etc
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