Jamie Allen (priest)

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Timothy James Allen (born 1971) is a British Anglican priest, who from 2009 to 2016 was Dean of Taranaki Cathedral, New Zealand.

In England[edit]

Early ministry[edit]

Jamie Allen with daughter Carrie

Allen was raised in Woodbridge, Suffolk.[1] He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1999,[2] at the age of 28, after first working as a DJ and as a Religious Education and English teacher. He was a curate for three years at St Mary's Abbey in the parish of Nuneaton, Warwickshire until 2002, when he was appointed Rector of Seend, Bulkington and Poulshot, a group of parishes in Wiltshire.

"A Country Parish"[edit]

Allen and his family were the subject of an eight-part Tiger Aspect Productions British television documentary and reality television programme A Country Parish, first broadcast in 2003. This covered the family's move from Nuneaton to three traditional village parishes in Wiltshire. The series was filmed over the course of a year, and examined the life of a clergy family and the dilemmas of parish ministry. The series included themes such as:

  • The re-uniting of an estranged family
  • Fox hunting and Allen's decision not to bless the hounds and horses prior to the opening meet, and the community's response to this
  • Loss and grief, through the story of a missing pet dog, and through deaths and funerals in the parish
  • Allen's taking part in a Peace March against the backdrop of a village having many retired military personnel

The series attracted a large viewing audience and there was huge media attention and interest. In 2003 Jamie moved from Wiltshire and resumed ministry in a less-publicized location.[3] He served as a priest in Buckinghamshire before becoming the vicar of St Andrew's Parish in Great Cornard in late 2005.[4]

In New Zealand[edit]

In 2010, Allen moved with his wife and four children to be vicar, and then dean, of the newly consecrated Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary,[5] New Plymouth, New Zealand. The cathedral was consecrated on 6 March 2010, and[6] Allen was installed as its first dean.

Carrie Allen[edit]

In 2009, Allen's second child, Carrie, had been diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of soft-tissue cancer. She was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and surgery to remove the lump in her arm. The family moved to New Zealand just as Carrie completed this treatment, and for some time the cancer was in remission, but it returned metastatically in 2011. In 2012, a fundraising concert (called "Carrie's Concert") [7] was held at Taranaki Cathedral hosted by Carrie, where Dave Dobbyn performed and over $8,000 was raised to benefit the Child Cancer Foundation and CanTeen.

Carrie died on 15 September 2012.[8][9] As her father was the serving dean at the cathedral, permission was granted for the closed churchyard to be re-opened for her burial.[10]

Taranaki Cathedral[edit]

From 2009 to 2016[11][12] Allen served as Dean of Taranaki Cathedral. Events during his incumbency included:

  • Establishing the parish church as a cathedral. This was expressed through the weaving of an altar frontal to peace,[13] all sewn by visitors, and depicting the 39 communities of the region (around which he did a pilgrimage with a local museum curator)[14]
  • Reading the entire Bible aloud (with only 5 minute breaks) as a fundraiser[15][16][17]
  • The relocation of historic hatchments[18] from the walls of the cathedral; war emblems which were a cause of pain to Māori and many others[19][20]
  • The establishment of a Garden of Remembrance featuring large emblems of Peace from the Māori community of Parihaka[21]
  • The restoration of many graves in the historic churchyard,[22] and the installation of floodlighting to light the cathedral (in colour, according to the season) by night[23]
  • Forming a link between Taranaki Cathedral and Coventry Cathedral, through becoming a member of the international community of the Cross of Nails[24]
  • The closure of the cathedral and relocation of activities to the hall, following a report on the structural integrity of the building[25][26]

Taranaki Retreat[edit]

In July 2014, prompted by the loss of their daughter, the Allens decided to sell their family home[27] and use the funds to establish a charitable trust which would offer a place for people to stay when going through tragedy, with the specific aim of suicide prevention. This was inspired by Allen's experience of pastoral work with families who had lost a member to suicide when there was nowhere to turn to for support.[28] The build of the facility was funded by the Allens' donation, by local businesses,[29] people in the community who had been affected by suicide, and through grants.[30]

The facility opened in March 2017[31] and offers free breaks[32] (or support at home) for people dealing with tragedy[33] or where people are dealing with suicidal thoughts. The Allen family were nominated[34] and chosen[35] as Taranaki Daily News Person of the year 2017 for their work on Taranaki Retreat.

Waiamanko[edit]

During 2021, a Community Drop-In Support Hub[36] was established in Taranaki by Allen and the Taranaki Retreat Team, to operate alongside the Residential Support Centre. The name Waimanako/The Waters of Hope was gifted to the premises - which are sponsored by New Plymouth District Council.[37] The facility includes support rooms, a Creative Hub and a Koha Cafe, where people can eat for free or for a donation. The facility operates from 10am-9pm daily except Sundays. The cafe offers a peer-listening services for people experiencing distress, or concerned for someone. "Listening Ears" can simply be added to an order for food. There are regular support groups,[38] workshops and one-on-one peer support and therapy available.

References[edit]

  1. ^ BBC: A Country Parish.
  2. ^ " "Ordination". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 1 July 2000.
  3. ^ "TV vicar leaves parish". BBC News. 13 October 2003.
  4. ^ "Reality TV vicar returning home". BBC News. 15 November 2005.
  5. ^ Bluck, photographs by Rob Tucker ; text by John (2011). Taranaki's cathedral : bringing it to birth. [New Plymouth, N.Z.]: Published for the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki by Anglican Taonga Publications. pp. 46–55. ISBN 9780473188085.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Cathedral Consecration". Taranaki Daily News. 8 March 2010.
  7. ^ "fundraising concert". Taranaki Daily News. 24 July 2012.
  8. ^ Radio New Zealand, National (25 June 2013). "The Life of Carrie Allen - Radio Broadcast". Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  9. ^ Jo, Moir. "Dean's daughter dies after three year battle". Taranaki Daily News. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  10. ^ Jo, Moir (18 September 2012). "Cathedral burial for girl". Fairmax Media. Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  11. ^ "The public face of faith: Taranaki Cathedral's Dean Jamie Allen". Stuff. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Dean Jamie Allen gives his last sermon at the Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary". Stuff. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Many hands make peace with past". Retrieved 9 June 2017 – via PressReader.
  14. ^ "The Taranaki Pilgrimage". Stuff.co.nz. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  15. ^ StuffNewss (23 January 2013), St Mary s Cathedral s Dean Jamie Allen began an epic Bible reading marathon at 7.30am, retrieved 9 June 2017[dead YouTube link]
  16. ^ "Cathedral Stages Live Read-a-Thon in Anniversary Celebration | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  17. ^ "A long, long wait for Jesus". test.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  18. ^ Ron. "Military Hatchments - St Mary's Cathedral". ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  19. ^ Pursuing peace in Godzone : Christianity and the peace tradition. Troughton, Geoffrey, 1972-, Fountain, Philip. Wellington. 2018. ISBN 9781776561827. OCLC 1028087006.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. ^ Quiqcorp. "Anglican Taonga : New Zealand's Anglican News Leader". www.anglicantaonga.org.nz. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  21. ^ Foy, Sarah (1 March 2013). "A garden built by kindness". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  22. ^ Ewing, Isobel (20 May 2013). "City's history in danger of crumbling". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  23. ^ "Easter a time of golden lights". 16 April 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2017 – via PressReader.
  24. ^ "'It's not a quick fix, it's a journey'". Stuff. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Taranaki Cathedral's emotional last service before closing for earthquake strengthening". Stuff. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  26. ^ "'National treasure' closes for strengthening". Radio New Zealand. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  27. ^ "Daughter inspires family's vision". Stuff. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  28. ^ "Mother took her life waiting for help, community mental health meeting hears". Stuff. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  29. ^ "Taranaki Retreat hopes to change culture around suicide". Stuff. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  30. ^ "Taranaki Retreat: a pathway out of the darkness". Stuff. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  31. ^ "Taranaki's first suicide support retreat is open". Stuff. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  32. ^ "Retreat reaching South Taranaki". Stuff. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  33. ^ "Retreat is good idea, mum says". Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via PressReader.
  34. ^ "Jamie Allen - Family tragedy inspired a way of helping others". Stuff. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  35. ^ "Jamie Allen - Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year 2017". Stuff. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  36. ^ Mcilraith, Brianna (21 June 2021). "Taranaki Retreat expanding its service into New Plymouth's Metro Plaza". Stuff. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  37. ^ Matthews, Jane (9 December 2021). "'Pay what you feel' charity chill out space opening in New Plymouth CBD". Stuff. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  38. ^ Matthews, Jane (24 October 2021). "Running towards recovery: New group formed to help Taranaki people struggling with addiction, mental health worries". Stuff. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
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