David Adam (1936 – 24 January 2020) was a British

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and writer. Adam was born in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

, Northumberland. When he left school at 15, he went to work underground in the

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

for three years before training for

ordained ministry Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

Kelham Theological College Kelham is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. It is about northwest of Newark on a bend in the A617 road near its crossing of the River Trent. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 207, f ...

. He was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Danby-Castleton-Commondale in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

for over 20 years, where he began writing

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

s in the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

pattern. He later became rector of Holy Island,

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...

, where he ministered to thousands of pilgrims and other visitors. He was made a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

in 1989. He lived on the coast near Lindisfarne.

Writings

Adam's first book in the

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic vein, ''Edge of Glory'', achieved immediate popularity. He published several collections of art, reflections, prayers and meditations based on the Celtic tradition. His books have been translated into various languages, including Finnish and German, and have appeared in American editions. Adam's books include: *''The Cry of the Deer: Meditations on the hymn of

St Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba ...

'' known as The Deer's Cry. *''A Desert in the Ocean: Meditations based on

St Brendan Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Celtic Christianity, Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, ...

's Prayer on the Mountain'' – God's call to adventurous living. *''The Eye of the Eagle: Meditations on the hymn

Be Thou My Vision "Be Thou My Vision" ( or ''Rob tú mo bhoile'') is a traditional Christian hymn of Irish origin. The words are based on a Middle Irish lorica that has sometimes been attributed to Dallán Forgaill. The best-known English version, with some min ...

'' *''The Edge of Glory: Collection of modern prayers in the Celtic tradition'' *''Flame In My Heart: The life of St Aidan'' *''Fire of the North: The life of St Cuthbert'' *''On Eagles' Wings: The life of St Chad'' *''The Open Gate: Celtic-style prayers for spiritual growth'' *''The Road of Life: Reflections on Searching and Longing'' *''The Rhythm Of Life: Morning, Midday, Evening and Night liturgies for each day of the week'', SPCK *''Tides and Seasons: A further collection of modern prayers in the Celtic tradition'' *''Walking the Edges: Living in the Presence of God''. Drawing on the stories of

St Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hungary), he converted ...

St Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason, he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedicatio ...

, St Patrick, St

Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642. However there is some question of whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and H ...

and St Cuthbert, this is an invitation to journey to the "borderlands" *''The Awesome Journey: Life's pilgrimage''

References

1936 births 2020 deaths People from Alnwick 20th-century English Anglican priests {{england-writer-stub