Terry Drummond writes:
THE death of the Revd Andrew Wakefield, on 26 October, aged 60, after a heart attack, was a shock to his many friends. A priest whose ministry was rooted in south London and the diocese of Southwark, he had been Vicar of St Andrew’s, Wimbledon, since 1997. The post was half-time, the other half initially focused on industrial mission. It was through our shared membership of the South London Industrial Mission Team (SLIM), which he joined in 1992, that we became colleagues and friends.
Andrew trained at Mirfield; and that underpinned his whole ministry, which was rooted in the eucharist. He would often cover vacancies for mid-week celebrations, and, while his public image was one of social activist, this important element of his service was rooted in his sacramental ministry.
He joined the SLIM team after serving in parishes in Pollards Hill and Putney, both in the Kingston episcopal area of Southwark diocese. It was a period in which traditional industrial mission was shifting to a focus on economic change, and a focus for some chaplains on issues of civic and public life.
In many ways, Andrew encapsulated this approach; he became active in the civic life of the London Borough of Merton, and, from a very early stage, he worked closely with the council members and officers. He contributed to many of the local authority committees, and was often better informed than many of the councillors. His contacts across the civic and public life of the borough were immense, and he moved easily between all the political perspectives.
When the Greater London Authority was established, he played a key part in the newly formed Civic Forum that represented the community and voluntary sector in discussions with the new authority. His capacity to work across many areas of public policy was a sign of his ability to represent the wide range of opinions that are found in any civic and public debate.
Andrew was also an entrepreneur, which led him into many activities that had business links. For many years, he chaired the Merton Chamber of Commerce, and surprised many business people by turning up at meetings and social events in his clerical collar: a reminder to everyone that the Christian faith is about the whole of life.
He played a critical part in setting up the London Inter Faith Forum. He showed an immense ability to work across and with all faith traditions. In Merton, he was a regular participant at both the mosque and synagogue.
In undertaking these activities, he never lost sight of the parish for which he was parish priest. He would always point out that his Mirfield training taught him first principles of priesthood, and that this had been central to his whole life.
In July, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by the University of Roehampton, in recognition of his many activities in the political and social arena. The award meant a good deal to him; it was a recognition by the university of his ministry and work.
Andrew was a great user of social media: a regular contributor to Facebook and Twitter. A joke that we shared was that he would never write an article, but could send tweets at any time of day.
His death is a loss to the parish, the borough of Merton, and the diocese of Southwark. He represented the last priests ordained when South Bank religion was a cause of debate. He believed that the heady days of Christian radicals were no longer, and he hoped that there might be a recovery, to ensure that the Church of England would be at the heart of civic and public debate.
