Below are the words to the Retirement “Song” the choir sang for Dorothy and John today (Sunday May 27) at their reception. Enjoy 🙂

John and Dorothy Mash Retirement Congratulations
Tune – “Jesus Loves Me”

In 1970 John was ordained
For God’s ministry he was trained
A life of service lay ahead
In Christ’s footsteps he would tread.

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

We all know that Dorothy was the rock
On which John would lean a lot
Being a priest’s wife is quite a task
But Dorothy was more than up for that match.

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

At Sorrento Centre John was in charge
For five years on Shuswap’s marge
Nurturing faith it’s quite a treat
Conferences, families and retreats

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

St Catherine’s North Van came to call
For 13 years John had a ball
Retiring to South Surrey happened next
Our assistant priest was then on deck.

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

A passion for visiting is John’s knack
Pastoral care for those out of whack.
John helped so many in this way,
Thank you, God bless you, we must say.

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

A moment of silence at the start,
Of the service, from the heart,
But anniversaries and birthdays once a month,
Weren’t John’s favourite, just a hunch.

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

What we’ll really miss are John’s homilies,
Down centre, no notes, an anomaly,
Liturgical analysis and history
Delving into Faith and God’s mystery.

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

Dorothy and John, this we know,
We all love you that is so!
“That’s Good News” John exclaims,
Dorothy nods, “Hall of Fame”

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!

Yes, we all love you,
Retirement, now a new you,
We just want to thank you,
For all you did for us!