|
|
The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
|
a healthy church...transformingLIFE |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
Birthday tribute to Nat Sonners |
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
The Reverend Nat Sonners celebrated his ninetieth birthday on 13 September 2004 with the congregation of the parish of St John's, New Town, where he still serves at St Bede's Church. Christened 'Nat', (the registry clerk could not spell Nathaniel!) he is one of the five out of eleven children in his family with eyesight problems, and was educated at the School for the Blind, which was in North Hobart. He has worked as a cleaner, caretaker and handyman at various times before being ordained. Nat's outstanding musical abilities are still practised today and he is organist for several lodges. His skills in sign-language, lip-reading and Braille writing and reading were developed from his early years, when there was not much community awareness of such things. After the death of his second wife, Kitty, Nat was called to the ministry and studied at Moore College, Sydney. He served in the Parish of Moonah and was known as the Restoration Parson in the Parish of Ross in the sixties and seventies, because of the renewal and reinvigoration he encouraged in the parishioners of the Midlands. He is currently Honorary Assistant Priest in the Parish of St John's, New Town. Nat's faithfulness and his dedication to service are well recognised and he received the Order of Australia Medal in 1991. At the ANZAC Dawn Service in 1988 the Duke of Edinburgh shook Nat's hand and said 'You are a genius because you have mastered your handicap, and I will report you, as such, to the Queen.' Few people receive such well-earned recognition. Nat's dedication seems to be set to continue for some time to come! |
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
