Reverend Dr John Rennie

As an abdominal surgeon, John must have heard many jokes about his surname of “Rennie”. As many will know, John’s first career was as a doctor. He rose to become an eminent consultant surgeon at King’s College Hospital. John retired from medical practice and found his true vocation as a priest. He was ordained in 2007. The six churches in the Upper Dever were privileged to welcome him as Priest-in-Charge in September 2019. Could anyone have fulfilled the duties of Priest-in-Charge better than John? He had spent 10 years in the heart of Hardy country in Dorset prior to his arrival here. No-one who attended his services would need reminding of his warmth, kindness and absolute sincerity. He wore his knowledge lightly and could speak as engagingly to a congregation in church as to a class of children or a prayer group: a true gift. John’s profound faith always shone through to all those who had the pleasure of meeting him, whether socially or in church. Almost two years of John’s ministry in the Upper Dever was affected by the impact of coronavirus which required a very different approach to worship. Very quickly John got to grips with the technology and was able to produce weekly online services. Via Zoom John has run Bible Study evenings, regular prayer meetings, a Lent Course, an Alpha course and a post-Alpha course. Men’s ministry continues to thrive and to reach out to a wide circle of men through regular Zoom events. Special mention should also be made that all of John’s ministry in the Upper Dever has been carried out entirely without remuneration.

John’s retirement will be a great loss to all his parishioners. We wish him, and his delightful wife Sheelagh, all good fortune. She has supported him so well in many of his endeavours, in particular mastering the techniques of managing complex Zoom technology.

He now deserves some time to relax. Some will know of his interests in golf and sailing; not so many will know of his proficiency as a saxophonist: a man of many talents!

We wish him well for a long and healthy retirement and much happiness in their new house in Longstock. We hope that he will maintain contact with all of us in the Upper Dever and are extremely grateful for everything he has done for our communities during a particularly difficult couple of years.