AU10/102/1/211/2

Text Preached at St. Andrews Church, Ampthill

20 August 1972

From: 1972 To: 1972

John Hillam, Rector, 1933-1947 Last Sunday there died a man who was Rector of Ampthill from 1933 to 1947 and looking round this morning I can see that not more than a handful of us will remember John Hillam, but the evidence of his ministry is very much in evidence. About twelve months ago he wrote to me that looking back on his time at Ampthill he could say that his chief aims had been to introduce the Eucharist as the principal Sunday morning service, and to clear the church of the Victorian galleries, which in those days ran along the north and south aisles, partially obscuring the windows, and making for a very oppressive atmosphere for those who sat beneath them. In other words, his aim had been to make the Lord's own service the central core of Christian worship here in Ampthill, and to make the Lord's house a worthy setting for the eucharistic offering. He was a man well qualified to bring about both those changes: as a student at Cuddesden theological college, where Cosmo Gordon Lang, his godfather - later to become Archbishop of Canterbury - was principal, and as a curate at the church of S.Jn the Divine, Kennington, he had been well trained in the Catholic faith. He had too, a deep and genuine sense of history: not that superficial nostalgia which merely seeks to fossilise; but the true historical understanding which retains, preserves and restores what is good from the past and must be passed on to the future; and learns from the experiences of the past in order to broaden knowledge and understanding of the present. And so, above all other aspects of his ministry, these are the two fundamental gifts his leadership gave, from which we all benefit in our worship today: and for this reason particularly, we must give thanks for his ministry in this town. It was once said of a well-known but lengthy preacher, that he passed many good stopping points. Perhaps this is true of the professional ministry in the Church as a whole: perhaps, if their circumstances would allow, many of the clergy would do better to retire from the ministry at a point when they feel they have done what they had been called upon to do. This, of course, is why men move from one parish to another after a time: having ploughed and sown, they must leave others to reap, while they plough and sow elsewhere. Sometime, to continue the analogy, they move into other fields completely, and some may even leave the ministry all together. When in 1947, John Hillam felt the time had come for him to move, he was able to retire at what was then quite an early age: his mother had left him a considerable estate in the south of France and in Yorkshire, and at that time these had to be settled. Shortly after leaving Ampthill, he inherited a large legacy from friends he had made during his days here; so, he was able to live on his own means without taking full-time occupation. But this was not an easy way out. It was the right thing for him at that time, and was a decision, which despite its apparent ease, took determination to make. He saw his stopping point, having achieved his aims at Ampthill, and he took the path he saw to be right. Every man, of course, has talents of one sort or another which it is his duty to develop and use in the service of his fellow men; and one of John Hillam's greatest abilities was in music. He was a pianist of considerable accomplishment and wherever he went, he was always asked to play the piano. One of the most popular pieces in hi repertoire was a Polonaise by Chopin and as an offering for his ministry in Ampthill, Mr Goode will play it for us now: so remember with thanksgiving the ministry of John Hillam here; and may his soul with all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

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Hillam, John George,
Goode,
Lang, Cosmo Gordon

deaths, churches, preaching, Rector, Luton St Andrew's Church, AMPTHILL