Giving Thanks for Celia Creamer

An SPS Member for Over 70 Years, Who Paved the Way for Church Planting.

Celia’s cremation service will be held at the City of London Crematorium (north chapel) at midday on 19 December 2024. All are welcome to attend.

With great sadness, we mourn the loss of Celia Creamer, a devoted member of St Paul’s Shadwell for over 70 years, who passed away on 14 November 2024, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy.

Celia attended her first Sunday service at SPS in the late 1930s, led by the much-loved Rector Revd Basil Jantz, who would later become a Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral. From an early age, she became deeply involved in church life, joining the Girl Guides, sports clubs, and youth groups run from SPS House (the Church Institute).

In October 1955, Celia married her husband, Jack, at SPS, and their son, John, was baptised there in 1962. Though she never held formal church appointments, Celia’s energy and commitment were evident in her fundraising efforts and event organisation, including barn dances, garden fetes, coach trips to Cambridge, and biennial reunions of former parishioners.

The post-war redevelopment of Shadwell in the 1960s and 70s, combined with population shifts, led to a significant decline in congregation numbers. Determined to keep the church active, Celia joined the PCC and worked closely with Revd Jantz to maintain its presence in the community.

In 1975, after 36 years of dedicated service, Revd Jantz retired and was succeeded as Rector by Revd Julian Scharf. Under his leadership, with new members joining the growing congregation, Celia was persuaded to take on the role of Church Treasurer, continuing to serve faithfully as the church moved into a new era.

When Revd Scharf moved to West Ham, Revd Theo Simpson took over, followed by Revd Lyn McRostie. By the late 1990s, however, SPS faced renewed challenges, with its viability as a parish church coming under question. Proposals were put forward to repurpose the building, including converting it into a pastoral college. With a small but committed congregation and a dwindling PCC, Celia firmly opposed these changes, believing in a future for SPS as a living, worshipping community.

Celia’s persistence and vision ultimately helped lead to a bold decision: a church plant led by Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) under Revd Ric Thorpe. Beginning in February 2005, the plant brought fresh energy, vision, and growth to SPS. Confident that the church was now in safe hands, Celia stepped back from her PCC role, believing her mission to sustain the church for future generations had been fulfilled.

This decision not only secured SPS’s future but paved the way for its ongoing mission. Over the past two decades, SPS has sown into 12 church plants and partnerships and resourced numerous other parishes, embodying Celia’s hope with a dedication to “give away things that grow.”

In 2015, Revd Ric Thorpe was consecrated as Bishop of Islington, founding the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX), and was succeeded at SPS by Revd Phil Williams. Under this continued leadership, SPS remains a vibrant community and a resource for church growth across London and beyond.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the church plant in February 2025, we give thanks for Celia’s unwavering faith and commitment, which made this journey possible. Over her lifetime, Celia faithfully served alongside six rectors, adapting to the changing needs of the church while remaining steadfast in her dedication to SPS. Her influence endures in the lives and ministries she helped to sustain.

Although declining health prevented Celia from attending regularly in recent years, she remained deeply interested in the church’s life and mission. Her final visit to SPS was in April 2024.

Celia’s cremation service will take place at the City of London Crematorium (north chapel) at midday on 19 December 2024. All are welcome to attend as we give thanks for her remarkable life.