Tribute from the Archbishop

Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon’s tribute to Msgr Kenneth Spence was read out at the August 28 Funeral Mass by Vicar General

Fr Martin Sirju.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings in the Lord from Thessaloniki. It is with deep sadness, yet also with Christian hope, that I address you today as we lay to rest our dear brother and friend, Monsignor Kenneth Spence.

When Msgr Spence was ordained a priest on 24 June, 1984, the Feast of St John the Baptist, he chose as his ordination psalm: “Your servant, Lord, your servant am I” (Psalm 115).

That simple, profound prayer shaped his whole priestly life. It was his way of recognising God’s immense goodness to him, and of promising to repay the Lord with a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the presence of God’s people, and right to the end of his days, as a faithful servant.

Over the forty-one years of ministry, he lived out that promise with constancy and joy. He served as parish priest in the Central and Southern Vicariates and in Tobago. He also took on wider responsibilities: as Vicar for Priests, Director of the Pre-Seminary Programme, Episcopal Vicar for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, and finally, Regional Vicar for the Northern Vicariate. In all these roles, he was the same man: God’s servant, faithfully at his post.

He anchored his priesthood in devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary, and he followed the words of the Apostle Paul: “You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience… Bear with one another, forgive each other… And over all these, put on love” (Colossians 3:12–14).

So many who encountered him testified that these virtues were not only words on a page, but qualities woven into his very being. Msgr Spence was a sensitive teacher—he encouraged, affirmed, guided and listened.

He had the courage to stand for what was right and true. He was a motivator, a tireless confessor, a man with a ready laugh and a hopeful spirit. He welcomed everyone with warmth, cared for all with fatherly concern, and treated people as though they were family.

In a way, you could say that his cassock itself was a witness as it carried the marks of his compassion, his humour, his readiness to serve, his love for God’s people. As God embraced him, he embraced others, reminding them again and again that God’s love is real, that it can be trusted, and that we must remain faithful to it.

Today, we thank God for his life and vocation. We thank the Spence family for their generosity in offering their son to the Lord and His Church. And as we mourn his passing, we pause to hear again the words of the Psalmist and of St Paul.

Msgr Spence’s life is not only a memory to treasure; it is an invitation to each of us. His witness calls us to clothe ourselves in those same virtues, so that Christ may shine through us, lighten the hearts of others, and with God’s help, make a difference in the world.

May our brother now rest in the arms of the Lord he served so faithfully: “Your servant, Lord, your servant am I.”

† CHARLES JASON GORDON

Archbishop of Port of Spain