Church farewells social justice champion

Uniting Church member Allan West has been remembered as a man with a big heart and a big laugh, who devoted his life to advocacy for social justice and education.

Among a great deal many other causes and events, Mr West was a regular at the Palm Sunday peace marches and a member of NSW ACT Synod’s Committee on Relations with Other Faiths. According to the funeral program, he was, “most at home when he was doing things, driving to events or watching a Wests Tigers game or fishing at the rocks at Shellharbour, creating a fragrance in the Chemistry lab, or teaching.”

Mr West’s funeral service took place on Friday, 29 November, at Thornleigh Hillcrest Uniting Church. Those gathered heard about a number of causes he supported and practical ways that he took action. The service incorporated Micah 6:8: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Former NSW and ACT Moderator Jim Mein, Allan’s fellow traveler to Israel and Palestine, spoke of his grief at losing his friend.

NSW and ACT Synod Moderator Rev. Simon Hansford told Insights that Mr West would be missed.

“Allan West was the kind of person that my grandfather would have called ‘a good churchman,’” Rev. Hansford said.

“He served faithfully, expected no accolades, and worked passionately where he believed God had called him.”

Insights sends condolences to Allan West’s family and friends.