We 
have just returned from a weekend celebrating my father’s 80th birthday. A truly wonderful occasion for an amazing man. Those 80 years have taken him from the rural idyll of a childhood in Sussex, to 18 exciting years in Hong Kong, urban ministry in Gravesend, and the stillness of the Acorn Healing Trust in Hampshire before further spells in Hong Kong and eventual retirement in the equally idyllic Buckinghamshire countryside.
Stephen Francis Sidebotham was born on the 31st May 1935 on a kitchen table in the rectory of St Peter’s Church, Crawley. As dreadful as that may sound, things could have been much worse…the 31st May was a fine summer’s day. Edward Maurice Sidebotham (affectionately known as ‘Rev’) and his wife, Marsie (Evelyn Rose Budd), had spent a pleasant day at the Brighton seaside with their two children, Peter and Jill. The onset of labour prompted a hurried return to Crawley and the precipitate delivery of a young man who couldn’t wait to get into this world and start his amazing journey. A journey that has taken him from the idyllic rural parish life of West Sussex, to the bustling high-rise cacophony of Hong Kong, and so, finally to the peace and serenity of retirement in rural Buckinghamshire.
It was at Christ Church that Stephen’s life-long love of carpentry came into its own. A large garage and outdoor workspace provided an excellent workshop and the birthplace of his most ambitious project – the Wensum sailing dinghy, No-such Two. His craftsmanship often required a bit of adaptation, and didn’t always work out perfectly: it was only when the dinghy was almost completed and ready to take out for its maiden voyage that it dawned on Stephen that it wouldn’t fit through the door out of the yard, and a crane had to be hired to lift it out over the wall! Nevertheless, the boat floated and, like its predecessor, brought endless days of fun for the family.
Stephen and Peggy returned once again to Hong Kong Island in 1976, this time as Dean of the Cathedral. Once again these proved to be engaging and inspiring years, as they continued to serve God in new and exciting ways. New friendships were formed, new initiatives started both in and beyond the church. Being Dean brought its share of pomp and circumstance – whether the formal services with judges and civic dignitaries, or visiting royalty – but also the fun and spontaneity of more informal gatherings and fresh ventures: the chattering of Filipina workers in their youthful fellowship; choir parties with crazy games; church-plants around the diocese; and the numerous endeavours of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Diocesan Welfare Council.
And so, after eighty full years, Stephen Francis Sidebotham starts a new chapter in life’s journey. A season, perhaps, of mists and mellow fruitfulness; a time to reflect, to celebrate, to remember. So many people have been, and continue to be blessed by Stephen. And he, too, has received abundant blessings from so many. 
An aspiring carpenter, Stephen has walked in the footsteps of the True Carpenter. The Holy One, who takes the knotted and gnarled wood of our lives, and forms and shapes them into something truly beautiful.