The Revd Andrew Hunt and others write:
BORN two months prematurely to Maurice and Maud at Park House, Waterloo, Liverpool, the infant Colin Bryan Oxenforth was revived by the nuns with the judicious use of brandy and glucose (he later dropped the use of glucose) and could remember being in his pram.
At St Faith’s, Crosby, he enjoyed Sunday school, from the age of three, and singing in the choir, from the age of eight. At Merchant Taylors’ School, he excelled at RE and drama; and summer holidays spent on an uncle and aunt’s farm on the Isle of Man instilled in him a love of nature and Celtic Christianity.
Colin went to an ACCM conference while still at school, and started training for ministry at St Chad’s College, Durham, where he was taught by, among others, the biblical scholar John Fenton. Alongside study and training, he engaged in pastoral work at a local mental-health hospital. He learned the discipline of saying the Office twice a day, a habit that he maintained for almost the rest of his life.
He served his title at St Andrew’s, Bromley, from 1969 to 1972, where he took on much parish visiting and, with the congregation, put on many dramatic performances. A second curacy followed at St Anthony’s, Nunhead, in Southwark diocese, where he had similar involvement in the local community and in race relations. He trained as a Gestalt therapist at the Richmond Fellowship in Pastoral Care and Counselling, and came out in an encounter group. He felt that he had at last realised the integration of his faith and his spiritual, political, and theological stance.
His years (1976-89) as Vicar of St Margaret’s, Toxteth, in Liverpool, were tough but happy ones in which he was involved with community race relations, Compass Counselling, the Aston Training Scheme as a teacher, and was a guest speaker on the St Albans Ministerial Training Scheme.
During the riots in 1981, the vicarage was attacked by a mob who wanted to smash the door down (he was away at the time; the bank opposite was burnt down); but the vicarage was loyally defended by residents who knew of his advocacy for the area and for inner-city issues. His church attracted many on the margins of society, and the congregation was a mix of people accepted just as they were. As one parishioner said, “It was a glimpse of the Kingdom of heaven.”
His next post was as Vicar of St Matthew’s, Brixton, where got on well with the West Indian and West African members of the congregation; but it was another tough area. When he opened the door one day, his jaw was nearly broken by thieves who were looking for something worth stealing, but with no joy. His comment afterwards was “Well I’ve been opening the door to strangers for so long that I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before.”
During his time at Brixton, he took the opportunity of studying at the Tantur Institute, in Jerusalem, under Kenneth Bailey.
From London, he returned northwards to St John’s Pemberton, Wigan, in 2000, for his final parish, after which retirement in 2010 took him back to within 200 yards of his birthplace. At Christ Church with St John, Waterloo, Liverpool, he was active as an honorary assistant curate; he helped out at the Mission to Seafarers, supported Sabeel/Friends of Palestine on marches, and joined an opera-appreciation society.
Colin had great intelligence, wisdom, and intuition; his knowledge of Christianity, the Bible, and Middle Eastern culture was large, as was the girth of his midriff. He was noted for his uproarious and infectious laughter, his ebullience, his wit, and his courage and strength in standing up for what he thought was right. He raged at complacency and indifference within the Church and in politics.
Music was always in Colin’s life. From an early age, he loved singing the Psalms, which he regarded as the story of his faith. Fellow students at St Chad’s were often startled by outbursts of operatic arias at unexpected moments. Later, friends were either impressed or alarmed by the size of his collection of CDs and books on opera (especially Verdi), theology, and archaeology.
He was a member of the Barbara Pym Society, attended annual meetings in Oxford, and gave lectures on the subject of her novels and their insights into the C of E.
He inherited from his mother a gift for making short, pithy, and perceptive comments about all manner of things. He brought light and life to friends and all whom he met.
The Revd Colin Bryan Oxenforth died on 24 January, aged 79.
