|
The
Observatory's NEW President |
We are very pleased to announce that we
have at last found our New President. The Rt. Revd. David Hawkins, Bishop of
Barking, has very kindly accepted our invitation to be our new President.
David will be known to some of our regular visitors to the island, especially
those who visit in the Autumn when he has been making regular birding visits in
recent years. David has been visiting the island since 1979.
We had been searching for some time for an appropriate person to head our 54
year old organisation and at last feel we have found the perfect person to
continue the good work that our last President, Dr. Eifion Jones, carried out
for many years until his untimely death 3 years ago. David's mother and
father, Monica and John Hawkins, very much loved the island and were regular
visitors and great friends of Sister Helen Mary who was the resident nun on the
island at the time. David
used to visit Sister Helm each year as his spiritual adviser. His father, John, represented the West Midland Bird Club on
the Council of the Observatory and David served on the council for a term from
1986. And, of course, not only is David a proficient birdwatcher,
regularly contributing at evening roll call when on the island when we record
the birds of the day, but he has a close affinity with the spiritual life of the
island. Last year he was asked if he would officiate at the wedding
of Emma and Steve on the
island which he happily agreed to. In the October of 2007
some of us were privileged to be present at the unforgettable ceremony which was
conducted in the Island Chapel and in the Abbey ruins.
|
I am sure you would like to hear
a little more about our new President so our research can reveal the
following:
The Rt. Revd David Hawkins was consecrated bishop on 17 October 2002 and
began his public ministry as Anglican Bishop of Barking in the Diocese
of Chelmsford in January 2003. He has special responsibility for mission
and parish development. The Barking area comprises the five East London
boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and
Waltham Forest, together with the Epping Forest and Harlow districts of
west Essex. The population is 1.3 million and it includes a wide mix of
ethnicity and culture. The area comprises 166 churches, 60 of which are
set in ‘urban priority area’ parishes. The Barking area also includes
the main site for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games in London.
David is an ornithologist and artist. You will find one of his
early paintings of the Observatory in the dining room at Cristin on the
island. |
 |
So as
well as a special responsibility for mission and parish development to a
population of 1.3 million in East London, David now has taken on a new mission,
heading our Bird & Field Observatory on an island with a resident population of
only 9 or 10 individuals but which has a summer population of thousands of
breeding birds and, of course, is also reputed to be the home to thousands of
Saints.
On behalf of all the Island population (humans and wildlife) and our members,
we thank you David for agreeing to become our President.