On 20 February, at Christ Church Fulwood, the time for mourning, funeral and obituaries was past. This was time for a celebration of how God had blessed his people through Philip Hacking, especially at Christ Church Fulwood but also in the wider Keswick Convention and Reform organisations.
Such an occasion was remarkable for not only had Philip been the vicar for 29 years (1968-1997) but this service was taking place 27 years after he had retired.
Not for Philip the greasy pole of ecclesiastical preferment, which has closed the pathway anyway for those like him who, on Biblical grounds, do not accept the ordination of women to be priests or bishops in the Church of England. His focus was the parish, preaching the Word, and pastoral visiting, to use the alliteration of three points, beloved of Philip, referred to a number of times in the addresses.
