Goodbye

Words from the conclusion to Doug's sermon yesterday -

"we say it hurts,
we say thankyou,
we ask why,
we say No to death,
we say this is where you are."


We said goodbye Ali.


















More than 400 people came together at 3pm on Friday 13th April at the Round Chapel.

We will post more shortly - for now here is the brief bio with which Doug began our Service.

Ali

The woman we knew and loved as Ali was born to Ann and David Adeney on Feb 15th 1967 in Beverley, Yorkshire and named Alison Clare. Sue was born Susan at roughly the same time – both were little sisters to Mark who was then 2 and must have wondered what had hit him.
When Ali was 8 months old, her family moved first to India and then to Sri Lanka. Back in England, home was Maidenhead in Berkshire where the family worshipped at St Mary’s. In 1973 another international move took the family to Pakistan, where Ali attended the British Overseas School. In the tropical heat the twins’ passion for swimming began- every Saturday at the pool and every Sunday at the beach.
In 1977 the family spent a year back at home in Maidenhead. After which they moved North, this time to Welton in North Humberside. There Ali went to South Hunsley, a large school in the neighbouring village. She sung and danced and led in the local Church Youth Group. On leaving school she attended Norwich School of Art for a year, living with her Mum at the new family home in Broom Green, Norfolk while her Dad worked in Nigeria. After this Ali started her creative arts degree at Newcastle Polytechnic, where she took up rowing, following in her father’s footsteps.

After graduating she volunteered for the CareForce project working for Scripture Union in Shoreditch. This began her love affair with the inner city and its people as well as the man she married, who she met while working there.
Chris and Ali were married on 5th September 1992 in St Leonard’s Church Shoreditch and Ali walked to the church from Hoxton Square through the streets in full wedding dress holding her dad’s arm.

Chris and Ali began their married life in Queensdown Road and they worshipped at Rectory Road URC – their love for this congregation and for Lance its minister remained undimmed. Involved with refugees and art- and music-based groups Ali thrived on life in this cosmopolitan neighbourhood. The music workshops at Hoxton Hall and the part time employment with a GP practice where she was a receptionist kept her links with Hoxton and Shoreditch but for Chris and her their hearts were set on finding a community house in E5 where they could get embedded in working to improve, network and reinvigorate a small neighbourhood. (Chris wrote that bit). Having spent a year in a flat in Cazenove Road the opportunity then arose to go in with a new project and church initiative based at the Round Chapel. We stole them from Rectory Road. This led in 1996 to their moving into No 33 Powerscroft Road and forming a new relationship with the church congregation at the Round Chapel, where Ali was later ordained as an elder and also in establishing a new congregation, then called host.

Chris and Ali’s daughter Asha was born on Feb 12th 2003 and their son Kirin was born on 18th March 2005. Ali was diagnosed with cancer in September 2005 – she and Chris worked with her doctors and medical team, including her wonderful GP Gene – on a series of courses of treatment – all over the world people prayed for her and wished her well – her blog became a source of inspiration for many of us as she and Chris shared their journey with friends near and far. Ali died from her illness at home in no 33 Powerscroft Road as the dawn broke on Wednesday of Holy Week in 2007. Her mother and Sue and Chris were at her bedside.