FROM THE CHAPEL Welcome back Bishop David Coles
Bishop David Coles, who gave 22 years of service to Christ’s College, returned last term to stand in for Rev Bosco Peters while he was away on sabbatical leave, making a pilgrimage in Europe.
Bishop David retired as Warden of Christ’s College seven years ago and was then busy running a parish in Queenstown. He also served as a locum in the only Anglican parish in Denmark. “When Bishop Victoria arrived in Christchurch, it was difficult for me to stay actively involved in a parish in this Diocese, so I accepted one for Queenstown, Wakatipu and Glenorchy,’’ he says. “We intended to stay for four years, but ended up spending six years there. “When we left Queenstown, I decided I still had plenty of energy left, so I was told of a nine-month locum position for a chaplaincy in Copenhagen and we decided that this would be a new adventure. I had never been to Scandinavia before and because the position was part-time, it meant we could spend plenty of time travelling in Scandinavia and in Europe. “We were very lucky, as it was the best summer they had had in 10 years so we were swimming every day and, because the country has a lot of small islands, we enjoyed exploring the coastal areas.’’ Bishop David says he went to Copenhagen knowing nothing about the church in that part of the world and was surprised by the beautiful old cathedrals. “Christianity had been there since 800 AD and these beautiful
churches had not been destroyed in the reformation. St Albans Cathedral, where I was, is the only Anglican church in Denmark and Greenland, and I had 29 different nationalities in the English-speaking congregation.’’ The parish where they were living was in the middle of the diplomatic quarter and they were surrounded by embassies. “The church had bought the house for entertaining and it was a wealthy parish with connections to the Royal Family. It was certainly not the cheapest place to live.’’ On his return to Christchurch, Bishop Victoria offered him some parish work. “There is a lot of need in Christchurch for clergy because so many churches have closed and boundaries have changed,” he says. “We used to live in
Redcliffs, though luckily sold the house which has now been demolished, before we went to Queenstown. I am delighted to be vicar of the Heathcote and Mt Pleasant churches, both charming wooden churches.’’ The earthquakes decimated the parishes and the congregation numbers halved when many people moved away, so it is quite a challenge, Bishop David says. He has found it fun to be back at College, commenting on the numbers of boys who are sons of students he knew during his time here. “The school is in good heart, despite what boys have been through in the last four or so years. Some things have obviously changed, but it us good to see that some of the important things – such as values and a sense of community – have remained the same.’’
Bishop David Coles at the opening of the Miles Warren Building.
College Issue 29 2015
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