Announcement: David Adam

January 28, 2020 authise authise

With great sadness, we have to announce that the much-loved Celtic spirituality writer, David Adam, died suddenly at home on Friday 24 January, aged 83.

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Over sixty joyous years, David exercised a rich and profoundly influential ministry. Born in Alnwick, Northumberland, he was encouraged from his earliest days to use his eyes to absorb what was around him. He wrote later in his autobiographical volume, The Wonder of the Beyond, ‘I lived in a land of open fields, moorland and beaches: a land of castles, of history, of heroes, saints and story . . . a radiant world . . . full of the mystery of existence.’

Some years later, while David and his wife Denise were ministering in Danby in the North York Moors, David became increasingly convinced that a simple approach to prayer would be helpful to his parishioners. His first book, The Edge of Glory: Prayers in the Celtic Tradition, was published in 1985 and became an immediate bestseller. Many more volumes of prayers, poems and meditations would follow during the exhilarating, exhausting and unforgettable thirteen years of David’s service as Vicar of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.

In retirement, he continued to write and to delight us with his vision and humour. Publisher Alison Barr learned to relax during the frequent pauses in their phone conversations. Sooner or later she knew she would hear, ‘I’m watching three red squirrels chasing each other to find a hare in the garden!’ or ‘There’s a long-tailed tit on the peanuts!’ In the last email she received, David wrote, ‘I wish you a glory-full Christmas.’ Enabling us to perceive the radiance of God’s glory in the world will be his lasting legacy to many.

David’s daughter Dawn writes: ‘David and Denise enjoyed a rich and happy marriage. He was quite a character and a wonderful father to Sharon and me. I am sure many people will feel his loss as we do.’