Priest and author Berryman dies

Archdeacon Richard Berryman, a priest, journalist and author, died on Jan. 27 after a prolonged battle with kidney disease at the age of 82.

Berryman was an Anglican priest for more than 55 years and served several parishes in the dioceses of Niagara and Huron.

He also served as the communications/media officer for the national office of the Anglican Church of Canada for several years during the years when Archbishop Ted Scott was primate. Archdeacon Michael Thompson, general secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada, noted that Berryman served the national church well during the contentious time of the World Council of Churches’ “Programme to Combat Racism.”

Writing was one of Berryman’s passions, and he wrote a column in the religion section of the Hamilton Spectator for 15 years, which included a series of columns on Indian residential schools.

He was the author of several books on theology and spirituality, including Burning Bush and Broken Bread: Implications of a Communicating God, published in 1987.

He was a volunteer firefighter in Stoney Creek, Ont., in the 1950s, and in Burlington, Ont., in the 1970s and ’80s.

His funeral will be held on Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. at Christ’s Church Cathedral in Hamilton, where Berryman was an active clergyman and parishioner for 40 years. Visitation will be held at the L.G. Funeral Home in Hamilton on Jan. 30 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

He is deeply mourned by his wife, Christine, and children: Anne Berryman (Greg), Mary Wellard (Len), Susan Jaskula (Ted) and Stephen Berryman (Mary); grandchildren: Katie, Rachel, Christine (Justin), Jenny and Victor; and great-grandchildren: Morgan and Mason.