Most people spend their Saturdays relaxing, especially when the weather looks grim. However, people driving through Durham’s Woodcroft Shopping Center saw a small group of dedicated volunteers handing out copies of a police missing person message.
The handbills have two pictures of Kent Torrey Hickson, the 71-year-old Anglican priest who’s been missing since Monday.
Hickson’s son-in-law Maurice Perry told ABC11, “We’ve searched around his house, searched around where the car was found. And now, looking between the bank where he was last seen and where the car was found.”
Sad to say that his body was found late last night. A suspect is said to be in custody, although details of what happened are yet to be released.
As nearly as I can tell, he was not an Anglican priest, but rather a retired Presbyterian minister who was a lay assistant pastor at a PEAR-USA related parish in Durham.
RIP, and may light eternal shine upon him.
Kent was an Anglican priest, ordained by Julian Dobbs, I believe. All Saints is reeling today. We have all been deeply unsettled by this event. This past week has seemed like several months. Church this morning was intense. And sad. Yet , we continue to proclaim the love of God even in the midst of our deep pain. Kent was more important than to our church than I can adequately describe. His presence among us has helped us to weather a LOT of storms over the course of the past few years. In fact, I don’t think that the church would have survived all of the tumult that has come our way, had Kent not been with us. And had he not constantly directed our gaze towards our risen Lord, as the church ssufferedseemingly inexplicable and incessant series of catastrophes, assaults, and set-backs… But we, as a church, are still here; we continue to witness to the faithfulness of God; we continue to reach out to a lost world and countless suffering people. And we do so, even as we suffer and even as we are enveloped by darkness. The Lord is good. Kent was a very special gift to our church. And we are grateful to God for allowing him to minister to us while we were all deeply shaken by various disasters and tragedies. Now, Kent is with the God who created and redeemed him. We are left with Kents example and the memory of his unshakeable faith. I would ask people to offer prayers on behalf of his family. And I would also ask for prayers on behalf of All Saints Church– that we might follow Kent’s example and allow his magnificently simple faith to take root in the hearts of all the members of this Church. The Lord is risen. Our God reigns.
Thank you for the information, bluenarrative, and my condolences to your entire parish. I went to your website seeking information and found a reflection written by Fr. Hickson — about death. May God comfort you all.
For those who haven’t read the local news, the man arrested has been charged with first-degree murder, although details have not been made public as yet.