Colin Bennetts 1940 - 2013
Bishop Colin died at home on Wednesday 10 July 2013 having been diagnosed with a brain tumour twenty-two months earlier.
Life and ministry before Coventry Colin James Bennetts was born in 1940. He spent his early years in Cornwall and London, being educated at Battersea Grammar School. He was an exhibitioner at Jesus College, Cambridge where he read Modern and Medieval Languages and was awarded an MA. He also studied Theology at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He met his wife, Veronica, while studying. They were both members of the Cambridge University Musical Society and sang a performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem in 1963 (a work that had been commissioned the year before to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral.) Colin and Veronica were married in 1965 and were to have four children during their forty-eight years of married life (Duncan, Katie, Jonny and Anna). They were also blessed with almost enough grandchildren for a football team. He was initially drawn to church by hearing the organ being played from across the road as a child. He then served the church for over thirty years before moving to Coventry as: Curate at St Stephen’s Church, Tonbridge (1965 - 1969); Curate at St Aldate’s Church, Oxford and Chaplain to Oxford Pastorate (1969 - 1973); Chaplain to Jesus College, Oxford (1973 - 1980); Vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Oxford (1980 - 1990), and from 1984, Area Dean of Oxford; Canon Residentiary of Chester Cathedral and Director of Ordinands for Chester Diocese (1990 - 1994); Area Bishop of Buckingham (1994 - 1998).
Page 1 Issue 1 – 12/07/2013 Bishop of Coventry - 1998 to 2008 Colin was installed as the eighth Bishop of Coventry on Palm Sunday 1998. His great sense of humour was apparent from the opening words of his address: “It was only a few weeks ago that I discovered that I wasn’t actually needed here today. Apparently the whole thing could have happened by proxy. However, I decided on balance that it would be less than polite not to show up.”
In March 1999 he led a diocesan conference entitled ‘Travelling Light’. Here he set out some of the themes that would underpin his ministry in Coventry and Warwickshire. He encouraged the diocese to give up those things that “inhibit us from running the race for which we are entered”, not just for Lent but for life. This included: driven-ness and activism; wrong attachments to religious institutions; and cultural inhibitions. This vision of ‘travelling light’ was complemented by the great trust that he put in his clergy. He was quite happy for clergy to break the rules for the sake of mission, but he preferred not to be told! Bishop Colin was passionate about mission, and shortly after his arrival he encouraged every parish to organise their own mission event and initiatives. This approach was typical of his relationship with parishes. He avoided a top-down approach to leadership; rather, he strongly believed that his role was to encourage and support the visions of local people on the ground. Bishop Colin played a key role in developing the framework which has profoundly affected every parish in the diocese during the past decade. After its residential meeting in May 2004, the Bishop’s Council issued the following statement: “The Bishop’s Council affirms its belief in Christ as the Lord of the Church and its commitment to all people of our diocese. In a spiritually hungry and changing society, we recognise God is calling us to new forms of mission and ministry. We believe the vision and motivation for mission and ministry should spring from, and be resourced by, local communities of faith.”
This statement was accompanied by a consultation paper entitled ‘Shaping our Church for Mission’ and it paved the way for: A mission statement for the diocese that the purpose of the church is, “To worship God, to make new disciples and to transform communities”; The empowering of deaneries and the leadership of Area Deans; The understanding that “Parish Shares pay for parish ministers”, and the widespread acceptance of a new Deanery Share system.
As is the case for all bishops, Colin exercised a ministry beyond the diocese. Amongst his national commitments was his chairmanship of the Partnership for World Mission Committee (PWM), a division of what was then the Church of England’s Board of Mission. Part of PWM’s remit was in an advisory capacity, advising English dioceses and the General Synod to participate in world mission as members of the Anglican Communion and ecumenically. Additionally, PWM were able to advise dioceses on diocesan links, and it was during Bishop Colin’s early years that Coventry diocese forged its own tripartite links with the Syrian Orthodox Diocese of Jerusalem, Jordan and the Holy Land, and with the Diocese of Kaduna in Nigeria. Bishop Colin, Archbishop Mar Sewerios and Bishop Josiah signed the companioning agreement between the three dioceses in Jerusalem on 8 January 2001. Of particular poignancy for Bishop Colin was his trip to Iraq in May 1999. He was part of a delegation, which included Canon Andrew White (former Director of the Cathedral’s International Ministry), to assess the humanitarian needs of the country following nearly nine years of UN sanctions. Bishop Colin was profoundly moved at the sight of a two-year old child dying in hospital for want of antibiotics, a casualty of the sanctions regime. Together with another bishop who had been part of the delegation, Bishop Colin gave evidence to the House of Commons International Development Affairs Committee in a specially convened inquiry into the future of sanctions. Bishop Colin believed most strongly that untargeted sanctions as applied then, were ethically untenable because of the effect upon the most vulnerable members of Iraqi society, such as the small girl whose dying he witnessed. In 2002, he courted controversy in an article published in The Guardian, in which he argued that no convincing case had been made for the slaughter that would follow an attack on Iraq.
Page 2 Issue 1 – 12/07/2013 Bishop Colin preached his farewell sermon to the Diocese of Coventry on Advent Eve 2007. It began with his customary wit: “I was out shopping early this morning in Sainsbury’s, as one does in retirement. As I wandered down the aisles I was trying to compile a mental list of ‘thank yous’ as a way of starting this sermon. By the time I got to the frozen chickens I’d given up!”
The people of Coventry and Warwickshire have an even longer list of ‘thank yous’ for the life and ministry of Bishop Colin.
In the words of some people who knew him The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth is Bishop Colin’s successor and the current Bishop of Coventry. Bishop Christopher said: “Bishop Colin was a wonderful man in whose footsteps, as Bishop of Coventry, I felt honoured to follow. His deep commitment to the gospel, his openness to the Holy Spirit and his desire to make a difference in every community were an example and inspiration to us all. Bishop Colin showed a wonderful capacity for flexibility and imaginative thinking, which he encouraged his clergy to share. His wisdom, wit, humility and humour will be sorely missed and I thank God for the privilege of having known him. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with Veronica and their lovely family.”
The Right Reverend John Stroyan, Bishop of Warwick, was a close colleague of Bishop Colin. Bishop John said: “Colin was a generous and open-hearted Bishop who made space for others to grow and to flourish in their ministries. He combined high intelligence and considerable linguistic abilities — not least in New Testament Greek — with a deeply engaging and attractive Christian faith. Many will testify to Colin’s frequently mischievous sense of humour, and to the fun and the laughter that characterised much of his time among us. He was one of the most attractively ‘alive’ people — in the sense of Jesus’ promise to us of ‘life in all its fullness’ — that I have ever met. Colin was passionate in his conviction that the love of Christ be made known in the world and that Christ is for all people and is not the possession of the Church. For this to happen, Colin urged, we have as Christians to leave the safety of Church life and to cross boundaries, making ourselves vulnerable as Christ himself did. Colin was himself an inspiring example of this boundary crossing and bridge building ministry in Germany, and not least in places of continuing conflict, such as Nigeria and the Holy Lands. He was frequently involved both before and after his retirement in bridge-building work in the wider Anglican Communion with the present Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. I am aware that I am but one of very many people indeed who have been touched by God through the life and ministry of Colin. The fruitfulness of Colin’s ministry in all the dioceses he has served in was made possible by the love, prayer and constant support of Veronica and their family.”
The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, served under Bishop Colin for nine years in the Diocese of Coventry. Archbishop Justin said: “Colin Bennetts was an outstanding Bishop, a wonderful parish priest and an exceptional friend and mentor to a huge number of people. Having known him at Coventry I was indebted beyond measure to him for wise advice and faithful prayer. Travelling with him was a pleasure, observing him a lesson. He faced, with his wonderful family, his last illness with faith in Christ. I will miss him and pray for Veronica and the rest of the family.”
Page 3 Issue 1 – 12/07/2013 The Right Reverend Mark Bryant, Bishop of Jarrow, served under Bishop Colin as the Archdeacon of Coventry. Bishop Mark said: “My five years as Archdeacon of Coventry were for me wonderfully happy and that was due in no small part to Bishop Colin’s leadership of his team. He seemed to sit lightly to being a bishop. Rank and Status never seemed to matter to him. He had an instinctive ability to draw out the best in people. The fact that in his final year as Bishop so many of us found ourselves moving away to be bishops or deans was a far greater tribute to his care for and development of us than he probably realised. His natural instinct it seemed was to trust his clergy. I remember a parish priest complaining to him about the new Initiation Rites and how it was difficult for him as Bishop to sanction alterations to the ponderous and wordy liturgy. He responded by saying that he trusted his clergy and if what they were doing was for the Mission of the Church he would back them. I found that when I became a bishop, I started remembering bishops I had known and modelling myself on them. I would love to model something of Colin’s warmth and encouragement.”
Canon Simon Lloyd, Diocesan Secretary in Coventry, said: “I worked with Bishop Colin for two and a half years and I noticed three attributes which made him great to work for. Firstly, his graciousness. Bishop Colin was a deeply gracious man and this grace came across in meetings. As with any organisation, people in the church do not agree with each other all of the time but what I saw in Bishop Colin was the ability to listen carefully to the opinions of others with differing views and graciously to ask challenging questions about what he was hearing. He had a way of making those who met him feel truly accepted. Secondly, his willingness to trust those who worked with him. In both the good times and the hard times, I felt completely trusted by him to get on with the task in hand. But he had always been there for counsel and advice when the way ahead was not obvious. I know others felt the same way. Thirdly, a sense of fun. On one occasion, we decided as a staff team to have a try at go-kart racing. We all got kitted up and took to the track in our lawnmower-engine-powered go-karts. In mid race, I thought that I was driving like a lunatic and about to tip the kart over when suddenly I got lapped at high speed by an even more enthusiastic driver who nearly shoved me off the track. I can’t of course, breach a confidence, but all I can say is, had the presenters of Top Gear needed a new test driver to replace the Stig, I knew a Bishop who would have been a strong candidate!”
And finally, in Bishop Colin’s own words Colin gave his final Easter Sermon as Bishop of Coventry in 2007 at Coventry Cathedral. It was a very powerful occasion, and an excellent six-minute clip can be viewed here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvqRQRbtW_k
Towards the end of his sermon, Bishop Colin said: “It takes huge faith sometimes to believe that there can be a dawn beyond the darkness; whether that darkness is the gloom of personal grief or of cosmic chaos. The mind-blowing assertion that ‘Christ is risen’ defiantly challenges that pessimistic worldview. It insists that individuals and communities were, and still are, transformed by meeting this Jesus; the Jesus who reverses the processes of destruction and decay. As St Paul puts it, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’”
Page 4 Issue 1 – 12/07/2013