Robert Raymond Davey (10 January 1915 – 16 April 2012) was a

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

and the founder of the

Corrymeela Community The Corrymeela Community was founded in 1965 by Ray Davey, along with John Morrow and Alex Watson, as an organisation seeking to aid individuals and communities which suffered through the violence and polarisation of the Northern Irish conflic ...

Biography

He was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Union Theological College Union Theological College is the theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Council for Training in Ministry. It is responsible for training people for ministry ...

, and

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students ...

. He was married to Kathleen Davey (née Burrows), who died on 19 December 2008. In 1940, he was ordained for field work with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

War Service in North Africa, and helped to establish a centre in

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near t ...

for use by all faiths to care for the social, physical and spiritual needs of those engaged in desert warfare. He was taken captive in 1942 and held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

near

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, where he witnessed the allied bombing of the city, in which huge numbers of civilians died, and was imprisoned in France and Germany. Returning home following the war, he was appointed (in 1946) the first Presbyterian Chaplain and Dean of Residences at

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. As part of that work, he established a Community Centre (the first denominational community centre in the university);Boyle, Godfrey, ed. ''Handbook '68; Queen's University Belfast''; p. 61 it was from those beginnings that the

was eventually born in 1965 when a building on the north coast of Northern Ireland was purchased. The new centre was formally opened that same year by Pastor

Tullio Vinay Tullio Vinay was a Waldensian pastor and theologian, as well as an Italian politician, who was born in La Spezia on May 13, 1909 and died in Rome on September 2, 1996. Recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations and founder of two impor ...

, founder of the

Agape Community In Christianity, agape (; ) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God". This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a deep and profound sacrificial love ...

, which was one of Ray Davey's greatest inspirations. At first, Ray Davey served as the elected Leader in a part-time capacity; he became full-time Leader of the Community in 1974 and continued in that position until his retirement in 1980, when John Morrow took over the role.

Awards and honours

*Honorary Ph.D., Pontifical University, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, 2002. *

People of the Year Award The People of the Year Awards was an annual award show in Ireland. Organised by the Rehab Group, it was televised by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The Awards provided a unique opportunity for the Irish public to honour outstanding contribu ...

in 1978

Books

Ray Davey and the 14th Dalai Lama at Corrymeela

* ''The Pollen of Peace'' (Corrymeela Press, 1991). * ''A Channel of Peace: Story of the Corrymeela Community'' (with John Cole, Zondervan, 1993). * ''Six of the Best: Stories for My Grandchildren'' (Corrymeela Press, 2000). * ''The War Diaries: From Prisoner-of-war to Peacemaker'' (Belfast: Brehon Press, 2005).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davey, Ray 1915 births 2012 deaths Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Presbyterian ministers from Northern Ireland People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) World War II prisoners of war held by Germany