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poliphilo Keith died on Monday.
He did more than anyone to keep the Meeting House going after covid and after the clerk and treasurer resigned in a flurry of drama I have yet to understand.
When I showed up for my first Meeting it was Keith who greeted me. He was very tall, soft-spoken, sweet- and wore his hair bunched up in a stubby ponytail.
He'd been a church Army captain, and came to Quakerism late in life. He was more of an evangelical Christian than any of the rest of us. Every so often he would buttonhole me to talk about "outreach"- and I would nod along and think to myself "Ain't never going to happen."
Because there's no way I'm going to stand on a street corner handing out leaflets.
He was a very private man. None of us- not even those who used to socialise with him regularly- know who the next of kin is.
He had an ex-wife in a care home in Llandudno- far-gone in dementia- whom he used to visit faithfully.
Recently he had been ill himself. Altzheimers. Stomach cancer. I last spoke to him about a week and a half ago.
News of his death came through as three of us were driving over to Battle to speak about Quakerism to a small women's group. First engagement of that kind that any of us has done in ever so long. Not exactly street evangelism but outtreach of a sort....
Nice one, Keith.....
He did more than anyone to keep the Meeting House going after covid and after the clerk and treasurer resigned in a flurry of drama I have yet to understand.
When I showed up for my first Meeting it was Keith who greeted me. He was very tall, soft-spoken, sweet- and wore his hair bunched up in a stubby ponytail.
He'd been a church Army captain, and came to Quakerism late in life. He was more of an evangelical Christian than any of the rest of us. Every so often he would buttonhole me to talk about "outreach"- and I would nod along and think to myself "Ain't never going to happen."
Because there's no way I'm going to stand on a street corner handing out leaflets.
He was a very private man. None of us- not even those who used to socialise with him regularly- know who the next of kin is.
He had an ex-wife in a care home in Llandudno- far-gone in dementia- whom he used to visit faithfully.
Recently he had been ill himself. Altzheimers. Stomach cancer. I last spoke to him about a week and a half ago.
News of his death came through as three of us were driving over to Battle to speak about Quakerism to a small women's group. First engagement of that kind that any of us has done in ever so long. Not exactly street evangelism but outtreach of a sort....
Nice one, Keith.....
no subject
Date: 2024-10-03 09:07 am (UTC)I don't know all that many gay, Jewish Quakers!
no subject
Date: 2024-10-10 07:18 pm (UTC)I don't think we have any Jewish members in Eastbourne but we do have gays.....