Father David has gone from us far too soon leaving so much grief. But his untimely death at the age of 54, has also left a burning desire to do something to remember him; to remember him not just in our hearts and minds and prayers, but in some tangible and enduring way; a desire to harness the power of the love that he has left behind and to create a fitting memorial, consistent with his own Christ-centred ministry that embraced all people.

Father David had a great love and admiration for Jean Vanier, the founder of L’ Arche. The following reflection that David wrote during a retreat with Jean, at his home in France, was found in one of his notebooks:

Trosly-Breuil
18 March, 2003
"We need to build communities of love. God is calling us to be holier. It is important that we draw closer to Jesus. We preach the Gospel firstly to ourselves aware of the fact that we don’t always live it. This encourages us to do better. We need to go deeper in our search for true holiness and this we discover in our limitations and weakness. We give our all to our present moment – what lies ahead – only God knows.”

Amongst the many moving tributes to David, on the Cathedral website, was one from Jean Vanier that simply said,

“I loved F. David very much. May his heart be filled with peace of Jesus and may his friends be consoled by Jesus. Peace, Jean”

It is therefore beautifully appropriate that Father David’s family has decided that this fund, which is being raised in David’s name, should be used by L’ Arche for a project that will make a real difference to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged amongst us. The purpose of the fund has been summarised as follows:

"The fund is to be used towards the building or purchasing of a L’ Arche home, either in Scotland or overseas, to be named in Father David's memory, so as to provide a tangible and enduring memorial to Father David that will be of real benefit to adults with learning difficulties."