Rev Robert Golledge

[Laura Dickerson <lauradi erols com>]

Rev. Golledge was the vicar at Old North when the bells got going again
in the 1970s and during the rehanging in 1983.  He was very supportive.
He died on Memorial day.  The service will be at 11 AM on Monday (the
6th) at Old North.  I'm planning to attend.  If they ask tomorrow (given
the church's last minute tendencies) if we can ring on Monday, the
answer for me is certainly yes.  We should ring a memorial something
soon in any case.
Laura Dickerson

we found this online:

>>Robert W. Golledge, historic church vicar

BOSTON ? The Rev. Robert W. Golledge, the retired vicar of Old North
Church in Boston, who welcomed hundreds of thousands of the curious and
devout to his house of worship each year, died Monday in his home in
Hampton, N.H. He was 72.

Christ Church in Boston, commonly known as Old North Church, is the site
where the lanterns were hung that set Paul Revere galloping off on his
famous ride. It is not only a house of worship, but a stop on the
Freedom Trail visited each year by tourists from around the world. This
presented unique demands and opportunities for Golledge. "I like to say
Paul Revere was my original PR man," he said in a 1991 Globe article.

In addition to its religious services, the Episcopal church conducts
tours for visitors, has a gift shop and has hosted a number of special
observances, including memorial ceremonies for those who died on the
original Patriots Day.

"We are the most visited tourist site in Boston ? about half a million a
year ? and Bob was a very nice, warm guy who set the tone for the place
and opened the doors to everyone," the Rev. Stephen T. Ayres, who
succeeded him as vicar, said Wednesday.

"He considered Old North Church a house of prayer for all people," said
his son Robert W. Jr., of Canton, Mass. "One minute he'd be talking to
school kids about the meaning of freedom, the next he'd be talking to
foreign visitors about freedom of religion. He loved it."

During the country's bicentennial year of 1976, Golledge played host to
separate events at which President Gerald Ford and Queen Elizabeth II
were guests of honor at the church. "He was willing to take a chance,"
said his son. "He invited the queen and invited the president and then
he said, 'Oh no, what am I going to do?"'

Golledge received visitors warmly, but he never forgot he was in the
business of saving souls.

"This place was 52 years old when the lanterns were placed in the
steeple," he said in 1991, "and I'm proud that it's still in its
original business ? the business of being a church."

Golledge presided over many weddings and funerals. Many people seek to
have candlelight wedding ceremonies in the 18th-century church.

He spoke out against racial discrimination and was particularly
outspoken during the turmoil over court-ordered school desegregation in
Boston, when he was a member of then-Mayor Kevin H. White's special
biracial committee on hostility and violence.

Golledge addressed discrimination in 1976 when he was commencement
speaker at Mount Ida College. "It will take you and me and everyone else
to solve these problems through friendship," he said.<<