Rev Bill Atkins was celebrated as a watchman, herald and steward of the Lord, with a life anchored in faith, family and international solidarity.
The Anglican community gathered in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh on a solemn morning to honor Rev Bill Atkins, who had died on October 22 after a sudden heart attack. As rector of the parishes of Killylea, Caledon and Brantry, he had served a rural congregation while maintaining a strikingly broad vision of the gospel.
Archbishop John McDowell, the primate of the Church of Ireland, delivered the homily, describing Atkins as a “watchman, herald and steward of the Lord”. The words set the tone for a service that blended personal reminiscence with theological reflection, underscoring the humility and conviction that defined the rector’s ministry.
Character and conviction
McDowell portrayed Atkins as a man whose openness and attractiveness stemmed from an “innocence that was never naive”. He attributed this quality to a single-minded devotion that the New Testament calls purity of heart. The archbishop explained that the rector’s evangelistic method involved pointing others toward the abundant life of Jesus and embodying that abundance in his own conduct.
The reverend’s speech was noted for its lack of platitudes. According to McDowell, “what Bill said carried conviction because I don’t think he ever said anything which he didn’t mean.” The description highlights a personality that was talkative without being noisy, unfocused on organization yet entirely centered on the glory of the gospel.
Family, faith and cross-cultural ties
At the heart of Atkins’s personal life were his wife Jamilla, originally from Pakistan, and their son Mark. McDowell observed that the couple’s union reflected “the inscrutable outworking of Providence”, emphasizing how two people from markedly different backgrounds recognized each other as soul partners.
Through Jamilla’s family, Atkins became acquainted with Bishop Azad Marshal, effectively the Primate of the Anglican Church in Pakistan. Both men shared a concern for the precarious circumstances faced by Christians in Pakistan and elsewhere. When McDowell issued a statement condemning racist and anti-Muslim behaviour in Northern Ireland, Atkins replied that the statement was “timely and may have prevented the deaths of Christians in other countries”, a perspective that McDowell admitted would otherwise have escaped his notice.
Legacy and surviving relatives
The service concluded with a reminder that Atkins’s life revolved around two poles: God and his family. His pride in Mark was evident, as McDowell noted the rector’s continual effort to demonstrate “the best that this world can offer and that God can give – the love of His only Son.”
Rev Bill Atkins is survived by his siblings Shaun, Libby and Mary, who, along with his wife and son, carry forward the memory of a man whose heart-purity and global empathy left an imprint on both local parishioners and distant Christian communities.
