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Obituary: The Rt Revd Dr Keith Riglin

by
06 October 2023

The Revd Professor Jane Shaw writes:

THE Rt Revd Dr Keith Riglin, Bishop of Argyll & The Isles, who has died, aged 66, after a short illness, is much mourned and deeply missed by many across the Churches and beyond.

His exceptional capacity for friendship and his thoroughly inclusive spirit led him to forge meaningful connections with everybody he encountered. His deep faith in Jesus and genuine care for people made him an effective and much valued pastor. And he was great fun. He loved his life and everyone in it.

Born in 1957, Keith began life as a Baptist. After taking an undergraduate degree in education and religious studies at the University of London, he trained for Baptist ministry and read for the BA in theology at Regent’s Park College, in the University of Oxford. He retained his ties with, and love for, the college for the rest of his life. He served on its Governing Body from 1997, and served as chair from 2020 until his death.

After his first post as associate minister at Manvers Street Baptist Church, Bath, he was appointed Lecturer in Church History at the United Theological College of the West Indies, which resulted in an enduring affection for Jamaica. He always believed in the transformative power of education. He had a deep love of West African culture, and travelled many times to Ghana in support of teacher training and theological education. He brought this passion to bear in his work for the All Saints Educational Trust, latterly as its Chair, work for which he was awarded the Order of St Mellitus in 2021.

Returning to England from Jamaica in 1989, he became Minister of Amersham Free Church, a Baptist and United Reformed LEP, and during his ministry there came to accept infant baptism. This led him to URC ministry and Cambridge, where, for a decade, he was Minister of St Columba’s, URC university chaplain, and an honorary chaplain of Wolfson College.

During those years, Keith was thinking deeply about ecclesiology. When he undertook a part-time doctorate at Birmingham University, he wrote his thesis on the practice and authority of order in a reforming Church. It was no surprise when he began to explore ordination in the Church of England — which he came to understand as truly both Catholic and Reformed. He was ordained deacon and priest in 2008. It was typical of Keith’s ecumenical spirit, and his wish to embrace all the elements of his faith journey, that he invited his friend the former Dean of Regent’s Park College, New Testament scholar, and Baptist minister John Morgan-Wynne to bless not only him, but also the Bishop of London at the end of the diaconal ordination service. His curacy at St Clement’s, Notting Dale, and St James’s, Norlands, in London, was followed by a period as Interim Rector of three charges in the diocese of Argyll & The Isles.

In 2012, he was appointed Chaplain of King’s College, London, and in 2017, Vice-Dean. There, he was able to combine pastoral ministry with teaching as a scholar priest. He nurtured many vocations, worked alongside students, faculty, and staff, and helped to create the LGBT+ staff network, Proudly King’s, demonstrating with characteristic integrity that to be a Christian is precisely to rejoice in the fullness of humanity, made as we are in the image of God. He did much to enhance the religious life of King’s, and he was delighted to be made a Fellow of the College. He also valued his positions as assistant priest at St Anne’s, Soho, and honorary chaplain of St Paul’s Cathedral.

In 2021, Keith became Bishop of Argyll & The Isles, consecrated in May that year. He relished life in Scotland: the visits to his parishes, often via ferry, and swimming every morning in the sea at Oban. He also loved being a bishop — precisely because of the interactions with so many different people which the post brought, in his diocese and across the Anglican Communion. He loved the Church, understood its weaknesses, and always sought to help it to live into its theology of the God of love.

Keith always had time for everyone, and he was enormously kind. He was a great encourager, urging people to aim high and supporting them in that. He brought to everything he did a sense of fun and mischief, a delight in shared meals and conversation, and an unparalleled sartorial style, always having the right outfit for every occasion. He was a fan of Doctor Who and George Harrison, and he loved dancing.

Keith was married first to Jacqueline Bryan, with whom he had two daughters, Lucy and Anna, and secondly to Jen Smith, Superintendent Minister of Wesley’s Chapel. He and Jen shared a deep faith, great style, the gift of hospitality, and a wonderful sense of humour. He is survived by Jen; Lucy, Liam, and their son, Dylan; Anna, Danny, and their son, Eric; his brother John, and sister-in-law, Sarah; and countless friends around the world.

 

The Rt Revd Dr Keith Riglin died on 24 September, aged 66.

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