A popular Hove vicar said goodbye to his congregation today (Sunday 14 June).
Father Phil Ritchie, 47, is leaving All Saints Church, in Hove, to become vicar of Cowley St John, in Oxford.
Father Phil has been the Vicar of Hove for the past seven years, having joined from a parish in Chichester.
He lived in Hove twice before becoming the vicar at All Saints – when he studied for a Master of Arts (MA) in Renaissance English literature at Sussex University and while he was the assistant curate at St Nicholas Church in Brighton.
For some, his tenure will be remembered for remarks he made in response to a question about coming to church at Easter.
He was quoted as saying: “The problem with the church is that we stay inside our building and occasionally come out and say, ‘Why don’t you come to our church. It’s cool and funky.’
“To be honest, it’s not. I would love more people to come at 10am on Sunday and I would welcome them to All Saints.
“For Christians this is the most important day of the year. All life and all hope flows from it.
“But there are plenty of ways to celebrate without coming to a draughty Victorian building. So why not stay at home, have a lie in, have sex and eat some chocolate.”
Not everyone appreciated or understood the self-deprecating humour with its awareness of the way many perceive the church from the outside.
Father Phil said: “I had to keep my mouth shut for a while. It was disapproved of by the hierarchy of the church but everyone else seemed to love it.
“People are desperate for a generous, open and warm spirituality and that’s what the church should be about.
“It’s about being human and the church isn’t always good at being human.”
Given the more spiritual aspects of religion, perhaps that’s not too surprising. But Father Phil’s words, which were the subject of prominent stories in The Sun and Daily Mail, among other publications, certainly led to some debate inside and outside the church.
He added: “People are very warm, generous and forgiving.”
And many have responded. While some will remember sex and chocolate, plenty of those involved in All Saints can point to the transformation of a stuffy civic church into something much more.
