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This page was updated on 7th August 2006.

Original Images: Shirley Hoole, stitched and reduced to 20%.

It is with great regret that we announce the death, at the age of 68, of Canon David Julian Friend who has been our assistant priest for the past 6 years. Although Fr David has been formally retired due to ill health for a number of years, he has been an enormous spirit of enthusiasm for the Parish of Crediton, and a very supportive colleague and mentor to Fr Faul. He died on Saturday 14th January 2006 after a short illness.

Fr David was an inspiration. Incredibly well read, he lectured at Exeter University, and we benefited from his thought provoking sermons. He was born of Jewish parents in East Cornwall, so his biblical training was multi-dimensional; his family lost many relatives in the holocaust. He chose to enter the Catholic ministry in 1968 and served several parishes in the Diocese. It is rare to experience such a broad spectrum of faith from a Catholic minister. He was also an educationist. David was a one-off, never a sycophant, and never afraid to relate the present day political traumas to events of history and the Bible. He was very sensitive to the growing politicisation of religion and the attendant dangers. He was also a little alarmed at anyone who took the Biblical Texts too literally, and his conversations with parishioners made use of his own wide reading to offer sympathetic and helpful analyses.

Fr David was a man who never retired from life. His abiding passion and the focus for his energies over the past few years have been his intense interest in inter-faith dialogue. If you've been a Jew and a Catholic it does equip you with some tools with which to drill into other expressions of faith! He was tolerant of the common man, whichever part of the world he came from. Considering the many human difficulties David endured in his life, this was amazing, and a real example. He saw the need to engage in dialogue with the Moslem world, not from a superior position, but from a position of mutual respect. We only saw a small part of this work in Crediton but he allowed us into this aspect of his vocation with his tales of meetings in many parts of the world. In America it's often said that the Catholic Church keeps the airlines in business. Fr David made good use of his travels. We hope that he has enriched many hearts and that they will reflect his tolerance, understanding and respect. We will miss him.

His funeral was held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, South Street, Exeter on Monday 23rd January at 14:30 hrs.

May he have eternal rest.

With the transfer of the Cathedral to Exeter in 1050, Crediton lost its historic role. The politics of 1050 are not fully understood, but clearly there were economic reasons for the move to Exeter. Since then, Exeter has commanded a leading role within the County. Millions of pounds have been spent on archaeological investigation in Exeter but very little in Crediton. The 1100th Anniversary of the establishment of the first Cathedral in Devon is a pertinent opportunity to restore the balance. We would like to hear from any archaeological specialists with an interest in Saxon buildings who may be interested in identifying the Saxon remains.

See the pages on FESTIVAL 2009, which will be hosted on this web site until such time as the Co-ordinating Committee set up a specific web site.

Events 2005

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