The Reverend Doug Dargaville, former General Secretary of the Victorian Council of Churches from 1966 – 1982, and again for a time in 1995, passed away on 19 March 2013.
The death of Rev. Doug Dargaville at Bacchus Marsh in Victoria, Australia has been announced, and his funeral is to take place on March 28th. Doug was one of the great pioneers of the ecumenical and interfaith movements, especially in his role as executive secretary of the Victorian Council of Churches from 1966 to 1982.
Perhaps more than anyone else, he laid the foundations for the organizational structure of the ecumenical movement here in Victoria and across Australia. A small man with a big vision, he brought his inclusive Anglican spirituality to the tasks at hand. With his retirement to the country town of Bacchus Marsh outside Melbourne with his beloved Lucy, his life’s work was not yet complete.
He devoted three years of his life during the 2000s to being the general secretary of Religions for Peace Australia, and was always a strong supporter of the interfaith movement, not least during the Parliament of the World’s Religions, held in Melbourne in December, 2009. He was an efficient and prudent administrator, never seeking the limelight yet everything was done with an ironic and disarming humor and a certain impish and whole-hearted spirit.
He was, in every sense of the word, a good man whose life was completely devoted to overcoming barriers and forging unity between the different churches and different faith traditions. We pray that he will find rest and eternal peace with the God whom he served so well and so faithfully for so long.
Professor Des Cahill,
Chair, Religions for Peace Australia.
