Kentish Express Ashford & District
Pioneer priest moved by warm retirement tributes
Parishioners filled Kingsnorth church on Sunday for their priest’s last service.
Canon Sheila McLachlan has been the parish priest for St Michael and All Angels, and St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Shadoxhurst, for more than two decades.
The 62-year-old, who was one of Britain’s first female priests, has now retired.
She took the service for the most part but was joined by members of both churches who celebrated her 20 years with them.
She said: “It was a very emotional service and I was left choked and overwhelmed. The church was full and the bells rang, which was lovely.
“I am struggling to come to terms with some of the tremendous things said and the generosity of people. They said how much they will miss me and talked about what an impact I’d had on their lives.”
After the service she was presented with a cake baked by churchgoer Gina Perrott, which featured a photo of her and a pic picture of Kingsnorth church.
A message iced on the cake wished a fond farewell to Canon McLachlan and her mother, Geulda Sammars, who is mov moving away with her.
Other “incredible” presents included rose bushes, one of which was a Sheila’s Perfume rose, vouchers, flowers, a ‘This Is Your Life’-style book and money.
The retiring priest also exchanged gifts with Kingsnorth Primary School.
Staff and pupils gave her a miniature version of a carved oak seat, dubbed the story teller’s chair, they had made for their own garden to remind them of her.
Canon McLachlan gave the school an ambassador’s shield, which will be awarded each year to a pupil who goes above and beyond to support their community.
She will spend her retirement in New Romney with her mother and dog Horace and plans to travel.
She added: “Retirement is a massive change for everybody and a whole new way of life. I’m just a human being like everybody else and it’s going to have its challenges.”
Sheila, who was the first female priest in charge of a parish in the Diocese of Canterbury, which includes Ashford, pledged to devote her life to God when she thought she was about to die at sea. In her mid-20s she was swimming in the sea in Devon with a friend when they got cut off by the tide.
As the lifeboat and coastguard failed to reach the pair they made the pact – just minutes before the RAF helicopter appeared and saved them.