Life Stories

The Reverend Prebendary Basil Jenkyns’ candid, amusing and thoughtful memoir of life as an Anglican vicar.

His approach to ministry involved a full and frank engagement with what mattered to members of Church and parish. It was an outlook fostered by the self-reliance necessary to growing up in industrial and rural South Wales in the 1930s and 40s. Alongside energy and determination he developed and honed a range of skills acquired from scratch in a vocation where no two days were the same.

His forthright, energetic yet sensitive ministry was widely regarded as inspired and inspiring by congregations and many colleagues, though national media were quick to describe him as ‘outspoken’ or ‘controversial’. Despite his popularity and opportunities to advance within the hierarchy of the Church, Basil Jenkyns preferred to follow a vocation of service in the parish.

“His memoir shows the ability of an ordinary parish priest to transform communities.”  Emma Thompson – Save The Parish”

“The Church of England has £15bn under management. Please spend it on more parish priests like the energetic, engaging Basil Jenkyns.”
Professor Alison Milbank – Nottingham University and Canon Theologian of Southwell Minster. Author of ‘The Once and Future Parish’.