The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

Today is a rather confusing day not because things aren’t beautifully organised, but because in Pauline terms a right hand is about to be transplanted to another as yet unidentified part of this Christian body. Judy has been the right hand of this body for the last eighteen and a half years, but her connection with this church goes back much further than that as you can read in our June magazine. And that connection will go on we hope way into the future as in a week or so she returns to being a member of the congregation and begins to work out what she wants to do in her retirement. So we aren’t exactly saying good bye today but we are decidedly saying thank you.

We are celebrating all she has done for us so much in fact that it seems slightly improbable that she should be retiring vicars and curates come and go but Judy We are celebrating what has been more of a vocation than a job, certainly if you look at the number of hours Judy has spent caring for this church and its work. It’s as though she has looked after us and brought us up for the last eighteen years and now we have to grow up and look after ourselves. And yet we hope that will happen without too many crises as people emerge to carry on her work a task that will be made much easier because of this book A Parish Manual which will become the second most important text here after the Bible. In it is recorded all that we need to do to carry on Judy’s work here is contained what Derek Spottiswood has called Judy’s encyclopaedic knowledge of things in and about this church.’

Derek has also raised the question of how we are to function without her. In a moment we shall be presenting Judy with some tokens of our gratitude and affection but the greatest tribute we can pay her is to keep going and to build on all that she has done, formerly as administrator and until now as sacristan and verger. In the June magazine you will find Judy’s summary of what she has learnt to value here; thinking about what I have valued most in the time we have worked together I would want to say that though I couldn’t have done without her support, advice and sheer hard work, what I shall miss even more is her presence at our week day morning and evening prayer. This is not a conventionally pious observation. When Judy reads the lessons it can sometimes be quite clear what she things about what she is having to read. Nevertheless the deepest bonds are I think formed with those with whom you pray as well as work and alongside all the other things I shall miss Judy as a companion in prayer.
Fr. Stephen Tucker