A correspondent writes:
BORN on 27 September 1930, Michael Buller Shrewsbury, the only child of Claude and Enid, grew up in the Daveyhulme area of Manchester. After grammar school, he went to St John’s College, Durham University, and then to Lincoln Theological College. Ordained deacon in 1956, he served a curacy at St Philip’s with St Stephen’s, Salford, as part of a team that was led by Canon Gwilym Morgan and included Don Cupitt.
All his life, Michael was an intrepid traveller, and, in 1960, he was thrilled to accept a short-service commission as Chaplain in the Royal Navy. Although it was short in duration, he had some remarkable postings. These included decommissioning HMS Vanguard, the last battleship, a chaplaincy to the young trainees at HMS Ganges, and chaplain of the cruiser HMS Tiger. He had many broadening experiences in the Far East and the Mediterranean before such travel became widely available.
Returning to a land-based ministry in 1964, Michael became Senior Chaplain of HM Prison Pentonville, where he met train robbers, and counselled inmates in the condemned cell, even as the death penalty was debated in Parliament. Its abolition came as a tremendous relief to him. In 1967, he accepted an invitation to be a prison and mental-hospital chaplain in Bermuda. On arrival, he found that he was also to be Chaplain to the Bishop, and to the Naval Base, an intriguing combination of posts, all of which he enjoyed.
Michael returned to England in 1970 and became Vicar of Holy Trinity, Dalston, in east London. Here, in addition to parish duties, he oversaw the rebuilding of the church school. Holy Trinity had long been the Clowns’ Church; so Michael became chaplain to the International Circus Clowns’ Club. His popular talk “Ships, Prisons, and Clowns” was well received in many quarters. During his 16 years at Holy Trinity, Michael was also Area Dean of Hackney from 1979 to 1984.
He met, by chance, Maurice Frost, the secretary of the Churches’ Fellowship for Psychical and Spiritual Studies (CFPSS). Michael was glad to consult with him over a difficult problem, and thus his long association with the organisation began. Michael was later to chair the CFPSS.
In 1986, Michael became Rector of St Dunstan’s, Stepney, and was appointed a Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral. In 1989, he represented the Church of England at the consecration of a bishop in Bangladesh, where he met Nelson Dewriy, a young Christian. Michael kept in touch and supported Nelson’s son through his schooling.
Michael retired in 1992 and held permission to officiate until 2015. During that period, he was a regular Saturday-morning celebrant at St Paul’s.
Michael met Alan Clarke at Holy Trinity and encouraged him to apply to Durham University, and later to offer himself for ordination. For many years, they were LATs (partners living apart together). In 2015, they finally retired together to a house just outside Durham.
An inveterate voyager, a skilled communicator, and spiritual friend, Michael ministered with dedication and infectious optimism. He was a competent cook and a generous host, and had the enviable skill of putting people at ease — everybody, as a long-term friend put it, “from offenders to admirals”. Erudite and well-travelled, he was, paradoxically, shy and diffident about his many gifts, but they were recognised and appreciated by a wide circle, many of whom will be thanking God for a remarkable priest and a kind and generous friend.
In 2018, Alzheimer’s became increasingly apparent, and the past two years have been distressing for all who knew and loved him. He died on 2 May, aged 89. A public thanksgiving for his ministry will be held when circumstances permit.
