Vale John Parkes: diocesan service for former bishop

A Diocesan service of thanksgiving will be held on Monday, 21 July for former Bishop of Wangaratta John Parkes, who passed away on Thursday evening aged 74. Bishop Parkes was the 10th bishop of Wangaratta's Anglican diocese, serving from 2008 until his retirement at the end of 2019, prior to the appointment of current Bishop Clarence Bester. While his funeral and burial will be held privately, the diocesan service of thanksgiving for Bishop John's life and ministry will be held on 21 July from 11.30am at Holy Trinity Cathedral, with all welcome to attend. "We give thanks to God for John, for his life and ministry as a priest and a bishop in the church of God, as husband, father, grandfather and colleague, mentor, and friend to so many," Bishop Bester said. "We continue to pray for his beloved wife Margaret, children Nell and James, son-in-law Tanu, and grandson Peter." In late 2018, as he prepared to mark 10 years as Bishop of Wangaratta, Bishop Parkes delighted in telling how he decided to relocate from Brisbane to Wangaratta. It was the end of 2007, and he was considering a request by Archbishop of Brisbane Philip Aspinall to become principal at Queensland's St Francis' Theological College, but a move to the northeast was also on the radar for the then-Assistant Bishop and Dean of Brisbane's St John's Cathedral. With wife Margaret, he travelled to the northeast as he weighed his options. "We were driving up from Alexandra to Mansfield, when we came across Bonnie Doon," he said. "Now, I thought Bonnie Doon was a mythical town invented only for the best Australian film that's ever been, 'The Castle', so as we came to the town, I said to Margaret, 'I'm the Bishop of Bonnie Doon'." His delivery of the anecdote's punchline was accompanied by Bishop John's trademark booming laugh, but he quickly added: "That's part of the story". "It was clear to me that this was where God was calling me," he said.