Nicolas Stacey facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  England |
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| Born | 27 November 1927 | |||||||||||||
| Died | 8 May 2017 (aged 89) | |||||||||||||
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Nicolas David Stacey (born 27 November 1927 – died 8 May 2017) was an English priest and social activist. He was known for his modern ideas and for helping people in need. In the 1960s, he was the Rector of Woolwich, a church leader in that area. Later, from 1974 to 1985, he became the Director of Social Services for Kent County Council. This meant he was in charge of helping many people with different social needs.
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Early Life and Athletics
Nicolas Stacey was born on 27 November 1927. He studied at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He served in the Navy during the last months of World War II on HMS Anson. He was there for the liberation of Hong Kong. He also saw the damage in Hiroshima shortly after the war ended.
After leaving the Navy, he studied Modern History at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Then, he trained to become a priest at Cuddesdon Theological College. During his time at university, he was a talented athlete. He was president of the Oxford University Athletics Club. He also competed for England in the 1950 British Empire Games and the 1952 Summer Olympics. He reached the semi-finals in the 200 metres and the finals in the 4×400 metres relay.
In 1953, he became a priest. He worked at St Mark's in Portsea, Portsmouth. In 1958, he became a personal assistant to the Bishop of Birmingham. While in Birmingham, he started a church newspaper called Birmingham Christian News. It was known for its lively and sometimes surprising stories about church news. Nicolas Stacey wanted to show that faith was important for modern life. He believed the Church should care about all parts of human activity.
The Woolwich Project
In 1960, Nicolas Stacey was asked to lead the church in Woolwich. He stayed there for eight years. When he arrived, he found that very few people went to church. Many people in Woolwich lived in poor housing. They also felt disconnected from the traditional church.
Stacey decided to try something new. He brought together a large team of ministers from different Christian groups. He closed one of the three churches. He also completely changed the inside of the main church, St Mary Magdalen. They built offices, meeting rooms, and even a discothèque in the church basement! A coffee bar was opened upstairs. The church's youth club became very popular. Within four years, about 1500 people visited the church each week.
Not everyone liked Stacey's modern ideas. Some other church leaders thought his methods were too unusual. However, Stacey also made sure his team visited homes in the parish. They tried to make church services, like baptisms, more welcoming. He also worked with local community groups.
After four years, Stacey felt his project hadn't fully succeeded. Even though more people visited, most regular churchgoers didn't live in the local area. He wrote articles for The Observer newspaper. In these articles, he talked about his "mission's failure" and suggested changes for the Church of England. These articles caused a lot of discussion. Some people criticized him, saying he was too focused on "gimmicks."
Despite this, Stacey changed his team again. Many of his clergy members took regular jobs outside the church. They worked in the parish in their free time. Stacey himself earned money through journalism. After three more years, he decided it was time for a new challenge. He started looking for work outside the church.
Leading Social Services
In 1968, Nicolas Stacey became the Deputy Director of Oxfam. Oxfam is a charity that helps people in poverty. He believed Oxfam could lead a big campaign to end poverty worldwide. He thought this would need a lot of help from the British government. However, Oxfam's leaders were worried this might make them lose their charity status. So, Stacey resigned after two years. His ideas were ahead of their time.
In 1971, Stacey became the first Director of Social Services for the London Borough of Ealing. Social Services departments were new at the time. They brought together different services to help people. This included services for children, young people, people with disabilities, and the elderly. It was a "cradle to grave" caring service.
Some people thought it was unusual that Stacey, who was not a social worker, got this job. But three years later, he became Kent's Director of Social Services. This was one of the largest departments in the country. It had 6,000 staff helping 50,000 people. When Stacey started, the department needed many changes. By the time he left in 1985, he had made Kent one of the best social services departments in the country. It was known for its new and creative ideas.
Stacey started two important projects that later became national government policies:
- Professional Fostering: Before Stacey, troubled teenagers in care were often sent to special institutions. Stacey believed that putting many insecure teenagers together made their problems worse. He started a program where carefully chosen foster parents were paid a good salary. They would care for two teenagers in their own homes. This was often cheaper than keeping teenagers in institutions. It also helped the teenagers much more. This idea was later used across the country.
- Community Care for the Elderly: Instead of sending elderly people who needed help into old people's homes, Stacey's team found ways to help them stay in their own homes. Each elderly person was assessed to see what they needed. Then, a special plan of care was created for them. This included help with daily tasks and meals. This was often cheaper than care in a nursing home. This program also became a national policy.
Nicolas Stacey's Legacy
Nicolas Stacey wrote a book about his life called Who Cares. In it, he honestly described his experiences in the Church of England. This book is an important read for anyone studying the history of the Church in the 20th century.
Many of the ideas Stacey started in Woolwich are now common in the Church of England. For example, different Christian groups often work together and share buildings. Some of his more radical ideas, like most clergy working in non-paid roles, might still be needed in the future.
His work in Social Services showed how strong leadership can make a big difference. Stacey believed that his work as a Director of Social Services gave him a greater chance to help people than if he had stayed only in the church. He felt he had a positive impact on what he called the "Secular Church" – meaning the wider community and society.
In 2005, he received the Cross of St Augustine. This award is given by the Archbishop of Canterbury for outstanding service to the Church of England and to Christian relations.
Personal Life
Nicolas Stacey's daughter, Dame Mary Stacey, became a High Court judge in 2020.
