Announcements

Sermon at the Funeral of Dr Patrick Sookhdeo

May 2026

Patrick is now with the Lord. The apostle Paul, that Pharisee of the Pharisees who became a disciple of Jesus, wrote to the Gentile Thessalonians, the people he would have in his previous life regarded as dogs, that through Jesus God will bring with him those who have died. Elsewhere he wrote to the Corinthian Christian Gentiles:

“We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump”.

What are we to make of this?

My own understanding, and there will be others, is that in using the term sleep, Paul was indicating that our experience at death will be the same as when we fall asleep after an exhausting day, and the very next thing we know the clock alarm goes off and it is time to get up.

I suggest that we think of someone’s passing to eternal life with Christ like that. In their consciousness the next thing they know after they die is resurrection day and the return of Christ and all other believers will be there with them. There have been many testimonies throughout history of people who have seen Jesus at the point of death. Just think of Stephen, the first Christian martyr whose last words were “Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God”.

So what a joyous day it will be for Patrick. All those to whom through the support of thousands of others he has been able bring comfort, encouragement and help will be there with him – and us.

The expressions of gratitude for that help have already begun. Today we have heard only a few of them.

It is appropriate to draw on the Bible in remembering Patrick. He was first of all an evangelist, Bible teacher and church planter. He and Rosemary planted a number of new churches from In Contact Ministries in Plaistow, East London.

He wrote a book of devotional studies reflecting on the Scripture, entitled With The Eye of Faith. It can be sourced free from the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life website along with Lenten Meditations on the Lords Prayer and two of his other books.

Our passage from Jesus’ final conversation with his disciples the night before his own death also speaks of the experience of death. He said:

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Thomas, who founded the Eastern Churches who are represented here today, asked the obvious question “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Patrick came to understand and commit himself to Jesus as the way, the truth and the life in his late teens. He also took very seriously what Jesus told the disciples to do while they waited for him in the meanwhile:

“Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Patrick with Rosemary took Jesus at his word – they sought to love other disciples of Jesus, especially those for whom following Jesus, meeting publicly or even in secret for worship, teaching and fellowship meant risking their lives, loss of loved ones and loss of homes and property.

But they also, with those persecuted Christians, also had and have the promise of Jesus:

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Perhaps it was that promise that enabled Patrick to be so forthright, outspoken and brave in his work for the persecuted church.

This is why he could write in his meditation on the Beatitudes:

“The Blessing described in the Beatitudes is gained during our time on earth – which is an in-between time, We have left Egypt, the land of oppression and bondage, and crossed the Red Sea, our conversion and baptism, but we have not yet entered the Promised Land, heaven. We are in the wilderness, a place of wandering, a dangerous place fraught with conflict, with gruelling hardships and suffering, and with many doubts and temptations. But if we view the negative experiences with the eye of faith, we make them positives. We discover like John Bunyan’s Christian in his Pilgrim’s Progress that the lions are chained. We realise like Bunyan’s Mr Valiant for Truth that our scars are badges of honour, a precious witness to the spiritual battles we have fought in the wilderness, through which our faith has been strengthened and purified. We come to understand that the struggles of our wilderness journey are a blessing that enable us to grow in the knowledge of God and to still our restless hearts: thus they can, indeed bring us the bliss of the Beatitudes”.

And we have already read the words of Jesus:

“Blessed are they that mourn – for they will be comforted.”

Amen

Canon Dr Chris Sugden
Acting Chair of the Oxford Centre of Religion and Public Life

Tribute to Dr Patrick Sookhdeo from Olive Aid Trust Malaysia

May 2026

It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, co-founder of Olive Aid Trust, who went to be with the Lord on 18 May 2026.

Dr Sookhdeo dedicated much of his life to a cause that the world too often overlooks — the suffering and persecuted Church. His deep compassion for Christians facing hardship, discrimination, and persecution across the globe was the driving force behind the work he helped establish through Olive Aid Trust in South East Asia. It was his vision that brought this ministry to life in our region, and his heart for the marginalized and forgotten continues to shape everything we do.

We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Rosemary, to his family, and to all who knew and loved him. His passing leaves a great void, but also a great legacy — one built on faith, courage, and an unwavering commitment to standing alongside brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer for their faith.

Dr Sookhdeo once said:

“My inspiration has always been Barnabas, the encourager, who stood up for the suffering saints of the early Church.”

That same spirit of encouragement, courage, and solidarity lives on in the work of Olive Aid Trust, and we remain committed to carrying it forward.

Nic Ng of Olive Aid Trust Malaysia said:

“When Dr Sookhdeo was in Petaling Jaya shortly before his passing, he reflected on the many trials and challenges he had faced since the hostile takeover of the Barnabas Fund charities in the United Kingdom in April 2024. Despite everything, his response was to cling firmly to God’s promises in Romans 8:28: ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’”

To our donors, partners, and supporters, we ask for your prayers during this season of grief — for Rosemary and the family, for our team, and for persecuted Christians around the world whom this ministry exists to serve.

We also humbly ask that you stand with us now more than ever. The need has not diminished. If anything, Dr Sookhdeo’s passing reminds us of the urgency of this calling. Your continued and generous support will help ensure that the work he devoted his life to will endure — that no suffering Christian will be forgotten, and that the voice he raised for the voiceless will not fall silent.

In his memory, and in faithful service to the Lord we all serve, we press on.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2

Olive Aid Trust Malaysia
Standing with the Persecuted and Suffering Church

The Death of Very Rev. Patrick Sookhdeo, Ph.D., D.D.

19 May 2026

The Board of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life (OCRPL) heard with great sadness of the death of Dr Patrick Sookhdeo on 18 May 2026, at the age of 79. Dr Sookhdeo served as Executive Director of OCRPL and was the founder of Barnabas Fund, now known as Barnabas Aid.

Dr Sookhdeo’s family came to the United Kingdom from Guyana in the 1950s. Leaving his Islamic background behind, he became a Christian at around the age of sixteen or seventeen. He later studied at London Bible College, where he met his future wife, Rosemary, who had come from New Zealand.

Together, Patrick and Rosemary founded In Contact Ministries in 1975 — later renamed Servants Fellowship International — based at St Andrew’s, a redundant church building in Plaistow, East London. Their work focused on evangelism and compassionate ministry within multicultural urban communities.

In 1989, Dr Sookhdeo established the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity. He and Rosemary also founded Barnabas Fund to provide practical support to persecuted Christians around the world.

In 2000, he obtained a doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Over the course of his life, he authored, co-authored, or edited more than forty books.

Nic Ng of Olive Aid Malaysia said:

“Dr Sookhdeo dedicated much of his life to a cause that the world too often overlooks — the suffering and persecuted Church. His deep compassion for Christians facing hardship, discrimination, and persecution across the globe was the driving force behind the work he helped establish here in South East Asia through Olive Aid Trust. Dr Sookhdeo once said, ‘My inspiration has always been Barnabas, the encourager, who stood up for the suffering saints of the early Church.’”

Bishop Yassir Eric, Presiding Bishop over the Anglican Church’s Global Ekklesia Diocese for Muslim Background Believers and an OCRPL Board member, said:

“I will always remember his love and concern for believers from Muslim backgrounds. He stood with us, encouraged us, strengthened us, and gave dignity and attention to many whom others overlooked. His legacy will endure. His witness will endure. His love for Christ and His Church will continue to bear fruit.”

Metropolitan Philoxenus Mattias Nayis, Patriarchal Vicar of the Archdiocese Germany of the Syrian Orthodox Church, wrote:

“During some of the most painful years endured by the peoples of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Middle East in general, he stood steadfastly beside the poor, the displaced, the persecuted, and the needy.”

In recent years, Dr Sookhdeo devoted himself to developing and expanding the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life, which was founded in Oxford in 2005. OCRPL currently provides theological training for grassroots ministries across Africa and Asia, alongside graduate programmes at Master’s level in partnership with North Eastern Christian University in Nagaland, India, and a doctoral programme with Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Through this work, the Centre continues to help equip theologically orthodox and biblically grounded leaders for parts of the Church deeply affected by persecution, war, migration, and natural disasters — a fitting legacy for a man who dedicated his life to serving the persecuted Church and preparing for its future.

In the midst of this great loss, the Trustees of OCRPL entrust Rosemary, his family, friends, and colleagues into the care and sustaining grace of the Lord whom Patrick loved and served with energy, integrity, conviction, and self-sacrifice.

“Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.”