04.02.2016
Funeral of Archdeacon Harley Vanston Takes Place in Arklow
The Funeral Service of former Archdeacon of Glendalough, the Ven William Francis Harley Vanston, took place today, Thursday February 4, in St Saviour’s Church in Arklow, where he ministered for 24 years. Archdeacon Vanston died on Monday February 1 in Brabazon House Nursing Home in Sandymount after a long illness.
Born in Bandon, County Cork, Archdeacon Vanston was educated in St Columba’s College, Rathfarnham and Trinity College Dublin. He played hockey for Ireland; he was, for a two–year period, Irish Record Holder in Athletics at 220 yards. Ordained in the Diocese of Connor in 1948, he served in St Mary’s, Belfast (1948–51), then in Rathfarnham, Dublin (1951–58) followed by incumbency in Narraghmore and Timolin (1958–65) before becoming rector of Arklow in 1965. He was installed Archdeacon of Glendalough in 1983 and retired in 1989.
Preaching at the Funeral Service, the Bishop of Glendalough and Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, paid tribute to Archdeacon Vanston describing him as a gentle human being, a devoted priest and a person of faith.
He said his Funeral Service brought Archdeacon Vanston back to Arklow, to people whose hearts and lives he touched over two decades of faithful and attentive ministry. “He embedded himself in the life of Arklow; and its people and its priorities became his people and his priorities in a way that priesthood and pastoral care give opportunity to all to do but not all take these opportunities to the full, nor can they. However Harley did so. He identified with Arklow and he never looked back,” the Archbishop said. [The text of the Archbishop’s address is reproduced in full below.]
Archdeacon Vanston was pre–deceased by his wife Rita (née McMeaken). He is survived by his loving son Stephen, granddaughter Katie, grandson Matthew, great–grandson Hugo, great–granddaughter Astred, sister–in–law Eva Sythes, also Sophie Vanston and Wendy Vanston, cousins, relatives, friends and neighbours.
Photo courtesy of the RCB Library
February 4th 2016 Funeral Service of William Francis Harley Vanston, Rector of Arklow and Archdeacon of Glendalough
St Saviour’s Parish Church, Arklow, Diocese of Glendalough, 12 noon
Sermon preached by the Bishop of Glendalough and Archbishop of Dublin
1 Timothy 1:12: … I give thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord, who has made me equal to the task; I thank him for judging me worthy of trust and appointing me to his service …
INTRODUCTION
With characteristic thoroughness, graciousness and simplicity, Archdeacon Harley Vanston left an instruction that the above verse from The First Letter of Paul to Timothy be the text for an address at his Funeral Service:
… I give thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord, who has made me equal to the task; I thank him for judging me worthy of trust and appointing me to his service …
It is a verse of Holy Scripture which is Harley’s gift to us today when we might rightly be sad and distressed at the death of a gentle human being, a devoted priest and a person of faith. It roots us firmly in Harley’s life of service of Jesus Christ and of his parishioners and neighbours who, with him, formed the community of affection and the people of God here in Arklow – and in a number of other places where he lived and made his dwelling before he came to Arklow and made it his long–standing home with Rita and with Stephen. It also ties us in with his sense of gratitude to the same God for calling him to service and leadership. It is the same God who not only equipped him for the job but entrusted the job to him – Harley Vanston – as someone worthy of trust. Clearly this meant a great deal to him and he remembered it with a thankful heart and soul to his dying day; and he has asked us to give it thankful voice on his behalf. And so, finally, it ties us in with God’s worldwide call to men and women everywhere to serve Him in the the service of ministry and in the ministry of service. As God calls Harley home, Harley calls us here at this noontide hour to a House of Prayer which became his spiritual home and in a community which became his wider family.
The parish and people of Arklow are indeed tremendously sad that Harley has died and so is Stephen his son; all are touched and warmed by the fact that he wanted his Funeral Service to bring him back to Arklow to people whose hearts and lives he had touched and warmed over two decades of faithful and attentive ministry in ‘the old school’ and in ‘the old style.’ His instinct bore fruit and his consistency brought dividends. He embedded himself in the life of Arklow; and its people and its priorities became his people and his priorities in a way that priesthood and pastoral care give opportunity to all to do but not all take these opportunities to the full, nor can they. However Harley did so. He identified with Arklow and he never looked back. Like any good parish clergyman, Harley looked for connections, he made them and he kept them alive. In the parish, he first made sure there was to be a new and comfortable rectory for the rector for the future. He next addressed the question of primary schooling and he effected the move of the Boys’ and the Girls’ Schools from St Mary’s Road to Knockenrahan. He further oversaw developments at the Marlborough Hall. This effective work in the parish was complemented by similar engagement in the community. He was one of the Founding Members of the Music Festival and continued as Joint–President. He was chaplain to Shelton Abbey. In yet another way, he identified with Arklow in a very practical way. He recognized fully that the sea gives life and energy to Arklow and he became the Port Chaplain. On his retirement, the Harbour Commissioners presented him with a ship’s bell which he treasured and cherished and which he had in his home in Brabazon House, in Sandymount, Dublin, again beside the sea, in his most recent years; and I am sure also had in pride of place in Dun Laoghaire where he and Rita went to live after his retirement from Arklow.
PARISH AND COMMUNITY AND DIOCESE
Born in Bandon, County Cork, Harley was educated in St Columba’s College, Rathfarnham and Trinity College. He played hockey for Ireland; he was, for a two–year period, Irish Record Holder in Athletics at 220 yards. Ordained in the diocese of Connor, he served in St Mary’s, Belfast, then in Rathfarnham, Dublin followed by incumbency in Narraghmore and Timolin and thereafter as incumbent of twenty–four years in Arklow. During this time he oversaw the amalgamation of the parish with Inch and Kilbride. He was Rural Dean of Rathdrum and subsequently archdeacon of Glendalough, the latter under the majestic and princely Archbishop McAdoo. Following a sudden heart–attack in holding such office, he retired and began a contented and fruitful period of twenty–seven years in retirement, first in Dun Laoghaire where he enjoyed both the community and the parish – and of course the sea – and then in Brabazon House. In the dioceses, he served on Diocesan Council and, in the wider church, on General Synod in addition to the duties outlined above. All of this he did with courtesy, fairness and firmness as befits the character of the man we have gathered to mourn today.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM SUCH A LIFE
A life such as that of Harley Vanston helps those of us for whom these things matter to see that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a wonderful, a fruitful thing and can be a long–lasting and life–giving thing. We can also see that it gives life to others. Harley moved from one phase of his life to the next phase with equanimity. Equanimity is that evenness of keel, that evenness of temperament, that capacity for accommodation and for joy in the work and in other people that Harley showed at each turn in the road and in his case came from God. He did not seek prominence. He did not seek being noticed, nor would he ever have thought in terms of his own responding to God in ever–expanding work as promotion. In this sense, the text he left us to grapple with today expounds the man he was and will remain for those who love him:
I give thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord, who made me equal to the task; I thank him for judging me worthy of trust and appointing me to his service …
He was quiet without being silent. He was authoritative without being offensive. He was faithful without seeking reward other than knowing that he had been appointed to the service of Almighty God in His Son Jesus Christ. For him this was sufficient unto each day and to each occasion.
FINAL REFLECTION
I learned of the death of Harley Vanston on St Brigid’s Day. Although associated primarily with Kildare, Brigid has something to say to us in Wicklow and indeed everywhere else right across the world. It is about shepherding, as the Gospel for St Brigid’s Day from St John 10 tells us:
St John 10.14: I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own and my own know me.
Country Wicklow and Country Kildare, where Harley did much of his pastoral work, both are renowned for their sheep. The Good Shepherd is an image important to us all: leadership as care; leadership as courage; leadership as service of the vulnerable. All of this he gave and, in recent times, received here, in earlier parishes, in Dun Laoghaire and in Brabazon House. For all of this he was constantly grateful as indeed as Stephen and other family members.
I leave you with the words he has left us as his gift of hope to us as we make our journey in life:
I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has made me equal to the task; I thank him for judging me worthy of trust and appointing me to his service …