The Rev. Dr. Peter John Arthur Cook, rector of St. Michael and All Angels Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for 23 years, died February 23 at 80.
Cook was born near Cambridge, England, and was a graduate of Reading University, Brandeis University, and Trinity Theological Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. from Queen’s University, Belfast. He was ordained a priest of the Church of England in 1971, and was received into the Episcopal Church in 1988.
He served as a chaplain at Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1987-91), and then fulfilled his dream of becoming a parish priest, as his father was.
He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 51 years; three sons; a daughter; and six grandchildren.
The Rev. Robert C. Hamlyn, who bridged the worlds of faith and psychiatry, died December 3, 2022, at 94.
He was born in Palmer, Nebraska, as the son of a Baptist missionary, and was a graduate of Lafayette College and General Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1953.
In 1962, he became chaplain of Grasslands Hospital (now Westchester Medical Center) and the Westchester County Department of Corrections’ penitentiary in Valhalla, New York. For 28 years he provided interfaith clinical education programs for community pastors who served as chaplains on the Grasslands campus.
Hamlyn cofounded the Foundation for Religion and Mental Health in 1968 and was a founding member and diplomat of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.
In his retirement, Hamlyn was a founding member of Caribbean Ministries, and served Anglican parishes on the island of Anguilla in the British West Indies well into his 80s.
He is survived by Claire, his wife of 68 years; three daughters; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The Rev. Deacon James M. Lancaster Sr., who spent much of his life as a Licensed Professional Counselor, died February 22 at 82.
He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and was a graduate of Delta State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. He worked in several mental-health facilities across the state before spending the last 10 years of his career as a counselor at the Harrison County campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
He began two years of study at the Diocese of Mississippi’s deacon school in 2001. He was ordained in 2003 and assigned to serve at St. John’s Church in Ocean Springs. He was a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and a Friend of Bill W. for over 34 years.
He is survived by Emily Lancaster, his wife of 45 years; a sister; two sons; two daughters; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren.
Douglas LeBlanc is an Associate Editor and writes about Christianity and culture. He and his wife, Monica, attend St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Henrico, Virginia.
