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Thornbury vicar John Suddard's funeral is held | |
(about 12 hours later) | |
More than 450 people have attended the funeral of vicar John Suddards at the church where he served as the parish priest. | |
Mr Suddards, 59, was found stabbed to death at his vicarage in Thornbury near Bristol on 14 February. | |
Stephen Farrow, 47, is accused of murdering him and Betty Yates, 77, from Bewdley in Worcestershire. | Stephen Farrow, 47, is accused of murdering him and Betty Yates, 77, from Bewdley in Worcestershire. |
The service, a requiem mass, was led by the Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Reverend Michael Perham. | |
'Easter faith' | |
The Archdeacon of Cheltenham, the Venerable Robert Springett, also took part in the service. | |
Speaking ahead of the service, The Venerable Geoffrey Sidaway, Archdeacon of Gloucester, paid tribute to Mr Suddards. | |
"It's seven weeks of course since these communities were rocked by the tragic death of their parish priest," he said. | |
"Today we have brought John back here to the church he loved and served for a funeral Eucharist led by the Bishop of Gloucester. | |
"There will be friends here from his parish in the Diocese of Chelmsford, from Gloucestershire and further afield. | |
"A great celebration of John's life and Ministry and of Easter faith and hope." | |
Bruce Goodwin, the curate at St Mary's who worked alongside Mr Suddards, said: "There have been different ways in which people have tried to remember John. | |
"We had a service early on, and then a vigil and now the funeral today will be a degree of closure in some ways for some people to come to terms with his death." | |
Mr Suddards had taken his post in Thornbury last July, having come from the Diocese of Chelmsford in Essex. | |
The Archdeacon of Gloucester said: "John was a lovely man, he was a kind man, a generous man. | |
"There's a lovely story that he used to light a lamp every night during his Ministry to signal to parishioners he was there for them if they needed him. | |
"And we now know that made him very vulnerable. | |
"He was also a very gifted man, a very able man and had a great sense of humour." | |
The communion service at St Mary's church in Thornbury is expected to last about two hours. | |
After the funeral he will be cremated and his ashes will be interred at his family's church in Dorset. |