Christian strength, kindness and patience marked the life of the Rt Revd Peter Vaughan, an Honorary Assistant Bishop to the former Diocese of Bradford, who passed away peacefully last month.
Bishop Peter served in Bradford from 1998 to 2001, said Revd Gordon Dey, who was vicar of Tong and Holme Wood at the time: “Peter will be remembered and specially treasured for his time as Honorary Assistant Bishop.
“He had recently retired from fulltime ministry as Bishop of Ramsbury in Salisbury Diocese, and, with his wife Elisabeth, offered these early years of retirement to the only diocese in the C of E that was not provided with an assistant bishop, so long as accommodation could be found,” Revd Gordon said.
A solution was found in Tong Village, in the Parish of Tong and Holme Wood, and in the following three years Bishop Peter's loving pastoral ministry became a source of great strength and encouragement, particularly to clergy and their families.
Revd Gordon said: “It was also a special time for Peter and Elisabeth, that they described as a 'the icing on the cake' to a lifetime of Christian ministry together.
“Peter had been born in Persia (now Iran), and Elisabeth was a New Zealander.
“Their sixty plus years of life and ministry together has been a remarkable global tale and trail, that included being a vicar in Sri Lanka, a Precenter in New Zealand, and eight years as principal of the CMS Training Centre at Crowther Hall in Birmingham.
“Peter's patience and kindness, coupled with his spiritual strength and passion, created a great mix that enabled him to be as comfortable peeling carrots on a Tuesday morning in Holme Wood as he was chatting with the locals in Tong Village. He lived a genuine Christian life with colourful humility.”
It was during their time in Tong that both he and Elisabeth decided to become 3rd Order Franciscans, and in subsequent years which was a great source of strength to them.
They were living in Lechlade-on-Thames at the time of Bishop Peter’s death and have two daughters, a son, and nine grandchildren.