Diocesan News
Emotional Farewell for Dean William Morton
It was a day “tinged with sadness” the Very Revd William Morton said as he welcomed the congregation to his final Sunday Service in St Columb’s Cathedral. There were emotional scenes afterwards as parishioners and friends bade farewell to the Dean and his wife Rosemary, who leave for Dublin later this week. Dr Morton will be installed as Dean of the national cathedral, St Patrick’s, at a Service of Evensong next Saturday.
Among the hundreds in St Columb’s Cathedral for Sunday morning’s Service were the Lord Lieutenant of the City of Londonderry, Dr Angela Garvey; the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Alderman Hilary McClintock; the Foyle MP, Mark Durkan; and the DUP MLA Gary Middleton.
During the Service, Dean Morton dedicated a commemorative cross in memory of all those from the city who had lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme a century ago.
It was fashioned from the cross which had adorned the spire of the Cathedral from 1820 to around 1980, until it was removed – with the help of the Army – because it had become insecure. For years the cross, which had split in two, lay near the entrance to the cathedral, waiting to be disposed of. It was, the Dean said, a tangible memorial for the city.
In his sermon, Dean Morton said it had been a privilege to serve in the parish. “The American poet, Robert Frost, in his poem The Road Not Taken, has a line, ‘Way leads on to way’. That is precisely what has happened for me, my wife Rosemary and family. Another road has opened up which I have been called upon to take.
“I wish to put on record our very deepest thanks for the privilege which you have afforded to Rosemary, me and the boys, of sharing the road which we have jointly taken over the last 19 years. Thank you for your support of the Cathedral and of us as a family, and also for all your encouragement and in particular for your good wishes as we leave for Dublin
“It has been an enormous privilege to have served here as Rector and Dean. Thank you for allowing us to share your journey and thank you for enriching our journey.
“There are many people here from other denominations and various strands of civic life. Together with parishioners I say thank you for your tremendous good will and your willingness to listen when so many others at times wanted to speak. And having listened, to have learned and been equipped to make a change for good in your domain of civic life. Thank you for all your encouragement and support to the Cathedral.
“By standing for what you believed in, saying at the time what was said, listening to another view, acting in faith, love and compassion, you have been involved in a process somewhat analogous to the restoration of the cross. You have created something beautiful in terms of a greater harmony in community from what was at times anything but beautiful – the Troubles, the strife, the community tension. Thanks to you, you have begun a process of healing of a society broken and fragmented, and you have sown the seeds and are nurturing the shoots of the emergence of reconciliation from conflict. I congratulate both parishioners and everyone in the city and beyond for working so diligently at transformation. We shall miss you all very much indeed but hope to see you from time to time – and remember: you will always find a welcome in Dublin.
“And a final thought is this. Clergy come and clergy go, but the Gospel and truth remain the same. So remain also the justice, freedom and peace for which those who perished in the Somme gave their lives and for whom the cross is and will continue to be a lasting memorial. May God bless you all.”
For further information please contact:
Diocesan Communications Officer, Derry & Raphoe
Mr Paul McFadden
028 7126 2440
07525 826290
[email protected]