Farewell to James Rattue

February 2009

For the best part of a year, from early 2008 to early 2009, our vicar, the Revd. Mark Ewbank, was away from the parish, serving as a chaplain with the Territorial Army in Afghanistan. From June 2008 to February 2009, we were very fortunate that St James’s Church, Weybridge, agreed to lend us their curate, James Rattue.

James seemed immediately at home at St Jude’s – in fact, he made the church building his ‘home’ for a large part of each day except his days off, coming over from Weybridge to say morning prayer in church at 8.30 a.m., usually joined by Canon John Fowles and sometimes by others. He would then stay on and keep the church open, which was much appreciated by people who dropped in. His penchant for buying things on e-bay became well known, and we have it to thank for the icon of St Jude which he gave us and which will serve as a permanent reminder of his time with us. Our parting gift to him was a cheque which we suspect he may spend on vestments which he finds on e-bay!

It was clear both to St Jude’s ‘regulars’ and to other local Christians that his high churchmanship was underpinned by a deep Christ-centredness – he showed himself to be thoroughly catholic and thoroughly evangelical.  This made it easy for him to relate to Christians across the spectrum. His sermons were a great mixture of serious theology and humour. He sometimes told stories against himself in order to make a point – for example, the anecdote about the time when he refused to own up to playing with fire (literally), when after an illness as a child, he was allowed to have a candle in his bedroom as a night-light and charred his wooden drumsticks by holding them in the flame to see what would happen. On another occasion, at evensong, he confessed to having left his carefully-prepared sermon notes in Weybridge: he had set out to drive back and fetch them, but had realised that he wouldn’t make it in time so had turned round and come back, resigning himself to preaching from memory – and a very good sermon it was, too!

James was much appreciated at St Jude’s, and in the village of Englefield Green generally, for his hard work, parish visiting, friendliness and strong sense of his vocation. We pray for his continuing ministry, and particularly that he will be appointed to a parish where his God-given talents will be used to the full.

Junior Church's Card to James