Jennifer Patten – Address by Matthew Saunders

JENNIFER PATTEN

Address by Matthew Saunders, Honorary Director of the Friends of Friendless Churches, at Farnborough Church, Berkshire 16^th June 2001

Although you might be forgiven for not knowing it, 2001 has been declared The Year of the Volunteer by the United Nations. I can think of no-one who epitomized the virtues of a volunteer, the British tradition of selfless charity, more than Jennifer. Indeed the whole regime of charity depends on people like Jennifer, willing to accept the responsibility of trusteeship which she took very seriously, without thought of recompense in the context of the law which expressly forbids trustees being paid. The whole panoply of good works takes as its bedrock people like Jennifer.

Hugo has asked me to talk about Jennifer's public role. I knew her for almost twenty-five years through the Friends of Friendless Churches founded by her father in 1957 and which she served as Honorary Treasurer, helping Ivor before his death in 1993 and taking the burden independently thereafter. What I really remember about Jennifer is her laugh, but what I came to admire most was her unflappability – not total as she had an endearing dislike of public speaking; her efficiency – who else could supply complicated books to the auditor or Independent Examiner which needed no changes at all other than in presentation – her commitment, sharing a genuine passion for ancient churches, a passion which fired Ivor and myself; and her industry – doing what she said she was going to do when she said she was going to do it. For someone like me whose mastery of figures is not that of Ivor or Jennifer, her hawkish attention to detail was exemplary. I recall her relentless pursuit of £12 which Arcadia plc (the name seemed to require her to wipe the smile off its collective face) insisted it had paid us as dividend, but she knew they had not. When our bank conspired to lose dividend certificates and have the brass neck to increase its charges at the same time, she rang and she wrote and she rang again until fairness was served, never once raising her voice. You sensed with Jennifer a steely determination.

When she began as Treasurer the Society’s income was modest – in the last years she steered it faultlessly through a period of somewhat headlong growth. We are now given £100,000 a year, 70% from the State and 30% from the Church, to take outstanding Anglican churches in Wales into care. This, and a so far nonrecurring annus mirabilis when we were left legacy income of £177,000 in a single year, meant that our accounts had to be subjected to the rigour of a full audit. She took that very seriously too and had, with Hugo’s constant help, begun the transference of the handwritten accounts to the computer. She mastered e-mail long before I had even understood what it meant.

One of our strengths is our name – the Friends of Friendless Churches – but in reality once vested with us, the Friendless can become whatever the opposite is, the Friendful. The enthusiasm of local people so often becomes reenergized. This is normally a good thing but, alas, not always. There have been occasions where Jennifer’s irenic powers have been necessary and have been exploited by me. It certainly is invidious to name names but we were left some money for a gorgeous little church by a self-made man of, shall we term it, direct manner – character traits shared in abundance by his widow. She took enormous exception to Jennifer and myself visiting the church in question to meet one of the church wardens whom it turned out, in good Trollopian fashion, she regarded as the Devil Incarnate. So what did we do? Well, we did indeed at Jennifer’s beckoning go back again to soothe ruffled feathers, Jennifer choosing just the right words, just the right tone, to save the occasion.

But Jennifer’s altruism beyond the family was not limited to The Friends. She taught backward children in Notting Hill Gate for years, her work in that respect being marked by a lunch specifically in her honour. She helped too to run the Country Holiday Fund under which deprived children from the cities were allowed to enjoy the pleasures of rural life. I believe, too, she was on the PCC of this church here at Farnborough.

Her greatest endeavour alongside the Friends where I witnessed her in action was on the PCC of St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, rebuilt after the War through Ivor’s doggedness and where his distinctive memorial in the narthex screen was dedicated only recently. She served the Parish as Treasurer and latterly as Churchwarden and came to be respected as the voice of reason and sense during discussions which could become heated; particularly when Ivor decided he had to oppose a particular project dear to the heart of the then Rector.

Jennifer’s legacy to the Friends is incalculable. She helped give it professionalism without dissipating the sense of passionate vocation which inspires us. She spent hour upon hour, day upon day, increasingly so in latter years, never ever seeking even expenses apart from the occasional stamp.

Trustees will be discussing in July the possibility of dedicating one of our churches as a chantry for the remembrance of those who have helped us over the years. Jennifer and of course her father will be uppermost in our minds when we take these decisions. Jennifer was special, very special, and she will be missed.