Trevor Beeson (1926–2023)

My husband thought this was a very odd book for an ardent atheist to purchase. The reason I chose it was for the obituary of the Very Reverend Jack Shearer, dean of St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, who was the curate of the church I attended as a child (I still own the prayer book he gave to me many decades ago). He became known for the immense amounts of money raised for charities as well as his peacemaking activities in Northern Ireland, bringing together worshippers regardless of persuasion. This is a selection of a couple of dozen obituaries, from a collection of about 500 that, although not attributed to him, are mostly written by Beeson. As Beeson sees it, neither sainthood nor an entry in the obituary column requires perfection. The book is in turn fascinating, heart-rending, shocking, entertaining. So although this was an odd purchase, it was an excellent choice and one I will go back to often. Very readable.

"Mr Dean', called out a lady of uncertain years as I entered Winchester Cathedral one afternoon in March 1987, "do you realise that you have been insulted in this morning's Daily Telegraph? The obituary of your predecessor describes him as 'the last of the gentleman Deans'. What do they suppose you are?" I thought it best not to enlighten her as to the authorship of the offending description.

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This is a fascinating tour of the author's experiences and reflections during his 50 years of ministry in the Church of England from 1951 onwards until his retirement. This includes a canonry of Westminster Abbey and the Deanery at Winchester Cathedral, but also much more humble appointments. He looks at each decade through a series of vignettes and stories about his own experiences and the wider activity of the Church, recounting how various hopes for reform have progressed or not, and discussing with his usual humane acerbity the merits or otherwise of various senior churchmen. Beeson is firmly on the progressive reformist wing of the Church and his book needs to be read in that context. Very well worth acquiring.… (plus d'informations)