04.JAN.08

The Remains of the former head of the Anglican Church in the Windward Islands, Bishop Sehon Goodridge, will be interred at the St George’s Cathedral church yard here in St. Vincent, following a funeral service at the Cathedral on Monday, January 7, at 4:00 pm.{{more}}

Dean of the Cathedral Patrick McIntosh told SEARCHLIGHT that the late Bishop’s ashes will be buried in the church yard next to the remains of the late Bishop Harold Piggott, who served as Bishop of the Windward Islands in the 1960s.

The Bishop’s body was cremated after a funeral service held yesterday afternoon in Barbados at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Bridgetown.

Dean McIntosh is urging Anglicans from all parishes to come out to the funeral “to thank God for his service and ministry in the life of God’s church in the Diocese and also the Province.

“He was consecrated and enthroned here in this Diocese. St. Vincent is where he lived and spent most of his time, so I hope the people will come out.”

Bishop Goodridge died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados last week Friday morning (December 28) of a heart attack, following a brief illness, his son Stephen told the Barbados Nation newspaper.

Goodridge, 70, a Barbadian by birth, had been Bishop of the Diocese of the Windward Islands from December 1994 until his retirement on July 31, 2005. During this period, Bishop Goodridge resided in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. On retirement, he returned to his native Barbados.

The delegation to the funeral in Barbados from the Diocese of the Windward Islands was led by Bishop Goodridge’s successor, Bishop Leopold Friday and included several members of the clergy and laity.

Bishop Friday told SEARCHLIGHT that Bishop Goodridge “will be remembered for his deep, thought provoking theological insights and keen interest in the continuing education of Clergy, and for providing opportunities for lay persons to be exposed to and engaged in deeper theological thought and praxis. Several members of the Clergy benefited from training at the Master’s level during his tenure.

“The construction of the Anglican Pastoral Centre in the archdeaconry of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where several training sessions, lectures and retreats were held is also testimony to this and also of his contribution towards the spiritual nurture and growth of both Clergy and lay persons alike.”

The Diocese of the Windward Islands includes Anglican churches in St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island, Carriacou and Grenada.

Bishop Goodridge was also the first black principal of Codrington College, having been appointed to head the oldest Anglican theological college in the Western Hemisphere in 1971. He led that institution for 11 years.

The Barbados Nation newspaper quotes Anglican Bishop of Barbados Dr. John Holder as saying it was “with great creativity and strong determination he transformed Codrington into a vibrant institution. Those of us who were at Codrington during his years as principal will be ever grateful for the vision of the Church, and indeed the world, that he imparted to us.

“He trained a generation of students who are now the leaders of the Anglican Church in the Province of the West Indies.”

Bishop Goodridge worked at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies where he served as warden at one stage. He also served as principal of the College of Simon of Cyrene in England.

Bishop Goodridge is survived by his wife Janet, his children Stephen, Rachael and Elizabeth, and his grandchildren.