With thanksgiving for Neil Prott

Posted on April 25, 2022 
Filed under People, Sydney Diocese

Sydney Anglicans will be saddened to hear of the death of Neil Prott, yet we rejoice that he is now with Christ.

Neil was a long time member of the ACL, and a long serving member of the Moore Theological College Council.

After studying at Moore, Neil served curacies at Caringbah (1964-66) and Albion Park (1967-68) before becoming Curate in Charge of Oak Flats (1968-72), and then Rector of Kurrajong (1972-1998).

In his retirement, Neil established Country Serve, a support for ministers and churches in country NSW.

Please uphold in prayer Neil’s wife June and their family.

A thanksgiving service for Neil will be held on Monday 2nd May.

As a man thoroughly committed to the gospel, we thought it would be appropriate to republish an article Neil wrote for ACL News in 1989 – “Evangelism – A Priority in Your Parish?”

Moore College Council passed this Minute of Appreciation on Neil’s retirement from Council

Neil Prott was elected to the Moore College Committee (as it was then known) in 1974 and remained a member without break until 2005.

Neil is a graduate of Moore and his first year in college in 1959 was the largest (46 students) post war first year to that time. The numbers were partly due to Archbishop Gough’s successful initiative in encouraging older laymen to undertake theological study to meet the manpower shortage in the diocese.

At school (Sydney Grammar) Neil was, by a year, a contemporary of Graeme Goldsworthy and a few years behind Bruce Smith and Roderick West. There he developed a love of rifle shooting (First Rifle Team) which continues today.

It was in the candidate selection committees where Neil gave of his best. His long practical parish experience and clear evangelical theology enabled him to ask perceptive questions and make well founded judgements. In Council meetings his verbal interventions were not frequent, but when made, reminded us not to neglect the inner life of the pastor-in-training and the practical demands of ministry in the striving for academic merit.

We will miss him on Council and pray that our God will bless Neil and his wife June as they serve our Saviour.

(with thanks to Dr Robert Tong for the text.)