The Venerable Christopher Futcher, Archdeacon Emeritus—Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, and previously Archdeacon of Exeter remembers Sue Parks, former link dioceses coordinator, who died on Friday.

I first met Sue when she retired from London and her work in the Anglican Communion Office to move to Exeter—where the bishop quickly asked her to be involved in work with link Dioceses of Cyprus and the Gulf, and Thika, in Kenya.

Sue had a talent for putting people at their ease and gently helping them to be ready for different cultural experiences and expressions of Anglicanism. Together, we undertook planning for a group from Exeter to join a meeting of the three link Dioceses in Thika in 2016. Then, in 2018, Sue joined me at the February Synod in Cyprus, ahead of Exeter hosting a tripartite meeting of the Dioceses later in the year.

Sue brought huge experience of and enthusiasm for relationships across the Anglican Communion. She got things done, and in meetings could cut through dithering with courteous directness.

She did not talk much about faith, but it was as if she did not need to—she simply was godly.

I will remember Sue as a good companion, with a mischievous sense of humour and a healthy disregard for pomposity.  We spoke and got together a number of times after her terminal diagnosis. She continued to travel, kept in contact with family and friends, and was determined to live until the end. 

Friends in Exeter gave Sue generous support and care, and she spent just the last 10 days in a hospice before she died on Friday 28 November.

May she rest in peace. 

Photo credit: Homes of Promise Uganda