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Sermon - Fr Tom Armstead's Requiem Mass (B) - 15th August 2009
St Alban's Anglican Church Epping
We have come together this day to give thanks for the life of William Thomas Armstead, Priest of the Church of God, loving husband of Clarice (recently dec) father of Adrienne & Pam, father in law, grandfather, great grandfather, much loved brother of Gwen (dec) and Win , who is with us today, uncle, and a wonderful and loving friend to us all.
As we gather we are reminded once again that we are an Easter people a people of the Resurrection. And before us shines the Pascal Candle with its light radiating upon Fr Toms mortal remains and also upon us symbolising again the promises of Christ... of new and eternal life given to us through his death and resurrection to all those who believe in him and those familiar words of hope resonate from St John’s Gospel ‘I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me, though he die , yet shall he live and whoever lives and believes in me will never die’ . And so we believe as Christians that death is not the end but an integral part of life. It is death’s door that opens to us , as for Fr Tom, the gate of glory where our mortal lives are transformed forever where there is no more pain or tears but only joy and eternal life in God’s presence.
I remember meeting Father Tom and Clarice in 1995 here at St Albans. It had been a difficult time for them because they had had to move from Bathurst to Sydney due to circumstances beyond their control. Fr Tom was so relieved to discover that St Albans was a loving Community of Faith which embraced main stream Anglican Theology and Catholic worship. I remember in those days they had a car and were able to attend on Sundays and the the Healing Mass on Thursday. St Albans thus became a very important part of their lives. As time went by with deteriorating health they both were still lovingly supported by St Albans for which Fr Tom was so grateful. It was only a few weeks ago that Fr John arranged for Fr Tom to preside at the Thursday Healing Eucharist by setting up an Altar at the foot of the Sanctuary Steps. That was indeed a very emotional moment for Fr Tom, such was his love for celebrating the Eucharist
It was in 1998 whilst I was still at St Albans that Fr Tom came to me and said Fr James I know just the parish for you and it is my beloved St Johns Balmain ... they need someone like you, what about I put your name forward. About 12 months later, after due process, it happened & I was inducted as Rector. ... Thanks Fr Tom for that!!
The death & resurrection of Christ , and his promise to be always with us even to the end of the age and a call to servant hood with the washing of the disciples feet at the Last supper and those words of assurance when Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life ‘ along side the love of Christ shown in the raising of Lazarus was the very centre piece of Fr Toms Ministry and it was that love that Fr Tom shared with others on his priestly journey.
And so now I would like to share with you some of his life’s journey as has been prepared by Adrienne
He was Born 8 th March 1917 at “Edgbaston”, Campbell Street Balmain, the family home. And was the third child and only son of William George and Annie Maud Armstead. He had two older sisters, Gwendolyn and Winifred. In the Mid 1920’s the family moved to new house, “Uralla”, built on next door block. These two homes were to be the hub of family life for the next 75 years. The families of both his parents were amongst the earliest settlers in Balmain. And he was both proud and interested in his First Fleet and convict forbears.
It was at that time that the Armstead family became involved in St Johns Balmain where they played an active role for many decades. As a schoolboy he was able to watch the construction of the Harbour Bridge from his own front yard! He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of Sydney Harbour, the shipping on it and the companies who owned them. Fr Tom went to Clevand St Boys High School until the Depression curtailed his education. He began work at McDowell’s Department Store in George Street and continued there until enlisting in the Army.
Also he became a member of the Central District Ambulance voluntary service, serving for many years. While at McDowell’s, through his sister Gwen’s friendship with Enid Cathro, he met and fell in love with one of the Cathro twins, Clarice. They married at St. John’s Balmain in September 1942, and lived in Dulwich Hill. Adrienne was born in 1944 and Pamela in 1946. Tom Served in the army for 5 years during WW2 as a Sapper Artilleryman stationed at Newcastle, Port Kembla and Wollongong. With the opening up of the old gun emplacements at Wollongong in recent years, he was able to show his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren where he worked and slept in those years.
On discharge,he returned to McDowell’s where he eventually became Assistant Buyer in the Dress Material Department, while continuing his ambulance work and his association with St. John’s Balmain. Before the war, under the supervision of Arthur George “Cappy” Rix, Rector of St. John’s he had studied for a Th.L. but was never formally examined.In 1952 he accepted the position of Buyer in the Dress Material Department of Mumford’s Department Store in Dubbo, and so the family moved to the Central West and, significantly, to the Diocese of Bathurst. He came under the influence of d’Arcy Collins the Bishop Co-adjutor of the Diocese and Rector of Dubbo, and when the Bishop of Bathurst, Arnold Lomas Wylde acknowledged his previous theological studies, he was accepted for ordination. Fr Tom was made Deacon in Holy Trinity, Dubbo on Trinity Sunday 5 th June, 1955 and ordained Priest in All Saints’ Cathedral, Bathurst on St. Nicholas Day, 6 th December the same year.
He served as Assistant Priest in Parish of Dubbo 1955-1957
Rector of Peak Hill 1957-1961
Rector of Warren 1961-1965
Rector West Wyalong 1965-1977
Rector of Narromine1977-1984
Canon of All Saints’ Cathedral Bathurst 1975 -1980
Archdeacon of Long 1980-1984
Diocesan Chaplain to Mothers’ Union 1973-1984
District Chaplain to NSW Police Service 1984-1994
Honorary Chaplain to NSW Ambulance Service 1993-2002
After retiring in 1984 lived in Dubbo and continued priestly ministry in Locum and voluntary positions in the Dioceses of Bathurst, Melbourne and Riverina. He and Clarice Moved to Lillian Nuffield Village within the Anglican Retirement Villages complex in Castle Hill in 1995 and became involved in village activities and Pastoral Care. It is then that they became associated with St. Alban’s Epping. Fr Tom survived a heart attack in 1996 and resumed active life.
They enjoyed interstate visits to Adrienne and Pamela until about 4 years ago when travel became too difficult. He delighted in the arrival of each of his five grandchildren and, in due course, the arrival of his four great grandchildren and followed their achievements with interest and pride. Pastoral care was a priority and one of his great strengths evidenced by contact maintained by former parishioners to the end of his life. They moved to higher level of care at Farrer Brown Court in late 2005. Fr Tom became inaugural President of the Residents’ Consultative Council at Farrer Brown in 2005, a position he reluctantly relinquished only a few weeks ago.
After Clarice’s death in March this year, after 66 ½ years of marriage, he became increasingly more frail. But his mind and spirit were alert and active to the end. He phoned both Pamela and Adrienne in the last hours of his life. He died while waiting for an ambulance to take him to hospital just before 7 pm on Friday 10 th July.
He told his granddaughter recently that the gift he would like to give Clarice on her Birthday was to be with her. Her birthday is next week, the 23 rd July.
He was a humble man but proud of his priestly vocation. Always meticulously vested, thanks to Clarice’s loving care of his robes, he always educated his parishioners so that they knew and understood the symbolism of the vestments and the liturgies that he presented for them.
Adrienne recalls chastising him (one of his favoured words!) once when she thought he had gone more than the “extra mile”, literally, in helping some parishioners by driving them to and from their holiday destination. He knew that the holiday was crucial to their well-being, and his reply to her was that the only way he knew to persuade people into the Kingdom of God was to love them in. His whole life, both lay and priestly, was dominated by his love for all people
And that sums up in a most profound way the sort of person. Fr Tom was... a person who loved others into the Kingdom of God.
I would also like to share a message from Bishop Arthur Jones who apologises for not being here today ... and he said in part ...Fr Tom was a late vocation, but he knew its essence from the start. The doves of the spirit whispered in his ears all his life . He was truly a Vir Eucharisticus. ... . A Eucharistic man .. and that is symbolised by the Chalice and Paten on the coffin. As he lies before us he is also vested in his Alb, Stole and Chasuable.
George Bernard Shaw was once asked what to him was the meaning of life to which he answer : Each of us has been given the gift of life that we might not only achieve something, but also be of service . We can live as though the world owes us something, nursing our disappointments and disaffection, or, we can build something, being part of a mighty purpose. What greater call could we be given , than to be chosen as a child of God, chosen to give praise to the Father , and sent out as disciples of Christ. We give thanks today for the Fr Toms ministry and that he was part of Gods Mighty purpose in serving him in the world .
The privilege of loving another person , as many loved Fr Tom involves the risk of separation,. And although the parting is real we know that Jesus is with us in these moments of grief and that his light shines upon us. In the words of the psalmist 139 The darkness is no darkness with you, but the night is as clear as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike. Today we give thanks that Fr Tom touched us all and sanctified us with his unconditional love and we commend him to Gods loving and eternal care.
In a metaphorical way I can see Fr Tom walking up to the gates of heaven with Clarice standing there at the entrance and saying Tom what took you so long, I have been waiting for you. Come on, take my hand my beloved, for we are now going home.
May God hold Fr Tom and Clarice in the palm of his hand and may light perpetual shine upon both of them AMEN
Fr Tom and Clarice’s ashes will be interned into the Memorial Garden at St John’s Balmain, Friday 17th July 2009.