The Revd Richard Thomson writes:
IF ANYONE had a problem in their personal lives, there was one person whom you could guarantee would listen to you: Ken Anderson.
Ken trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge, and served his title in Norwich. Bishop Lancelot Fleming sent him to serve at both a central Norwich church and as Chaplain of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. He wanted Ken to learn skills and knowledge directly from the doctors to be of the utmost help to the patients, which stood him in good stead later, in the community.
Ken took up posts at St Martin’s, Sandford, in the Isle of Purbeck, and from there Sherborne School in 1971. With Polly, his wife, by his side, Ken was a constant support to both the boys of that school and girls from the girls’ school, who soon got wind of his skills in pastoral care. Soon, his house was a refuge for every child who needed love and support in a fairly tough public-school culture.
He inaugurated a Friday evening candlelit communion service, which became a beacon for other school chaplains across the country. He was the first to explain to others that teenagers, contrary to popular opinion, actually loved silence. His sermons were full of stories and kept the young spellbound.
After 12 years at Sherborne, Ken moved to Zimbabwe, first to Peterhouse School, and then to a parish that, he boasted, was the size of Wales. He was loved and admired by all, and returned to the UK in 1994, to work at Durham University as a Chaplain to Trevelyan and Van Mildert Colleges.
In retirement, Ken moved to Eynesbury in Ely diocese, to be closer to family. He continued to give counsel to many, until the last months of his life
Ken died on the fourth Sunday before Lent, with his wife and daughter beside him. The collect on this Sunday aptly begins: “O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright”. These were words that defined his care and ministry.
Ken leaves behind Polly, his wife of 60 years, Jamie and Rachel, and seven grandchildren. He will be gratefully remembered by thousands of people who all had the need at some point in their early life, to be listened to and heard. He showed the love of Christ by his pastoral care and his ability to tell a good story, which always began: “I have a rather lovely story to tell you.” And he had.
