The Very Rev’d Dr Robert Willis will be at St. Thomas for Holy Week and Easter. Dean Willis will be leading us through this time with daily services, talks and meditations with a series called, ‘In accordance with the Scriptures’.
Robert Willis is a priest in the Church of England. He is known for being a theologian, hymn writer, and pastor. He served as Dean of Canterbury, running the mother church of the Anglican Communion and the King’s School, Canterbury (the world’s oldest school, founded by St Augustine in 597) and advising three archbishops, from 2001 to 2022 following nine years as Dean of Hereford and five years as Vicar of Sherborne Abbey. A leading member of the General Synod for over thirty years and with oversight of the Deans’ council of England for two decades, he has also worked on numerous regional, national and international boards – including here in the US – of charities and associations ranging from the arts and music to homelessness and healthcare. He is most recently well known for the broadcasts of Morning Prayer that he and his civil-partner of 22 years, Fletcher Banner, made every day for 26 months from the Deanery Garden in Canterbury during the COVID-19 pandemic which attracted and still attracts millions of views from all over the world of people of all faiths and none (www.youtube.com/@GardenCongregation), helping people through those dark years and bringing many back to faith. He has received doctorates from various universities, including Yale, and the rare Freedom of the City of Canterbury in recognition for his work and the Cross of St Augustine from Archbishop Rowan Williams and the gift of a relic of St Gregory from His Holiness in recognition and thanks for his work in ecumenism and reconciliation. On January 23, 2023 he was named Dean Emeritus of Canterbury by Archbishop Justin Welby and since then both he and Fletcher have been working as ambassadors for the church and various charities all over the world including for a new pilgrim centre, Casa Anglicana, in Santiago de Compostela, which has been partially funded by St Thomas Church to serve as a place of welcome and hospitality for Episcopalian Anglicans when they arrive in that holy city. Dean Robert and Fletcher have been close friends of both the Rector and Mother Turner and of STC for many years.
Holy Week Services at Which Dean Willis will Preach
Sunday, March 24, 2024 @ 4:00 p.m.
Monday, March 25, 2024 @ 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 @ 5:30 p.m.
Including the Procession to the Altar of Repose and the Stripping of the Altar
Thursday, March 28, 2024 @ 5:30 p.m.
Friday, March 29, 2024 @ 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 31, 2024 @ 11:00 a.m.
Categories: Clergy
