Rev Bob Booth, Priest and Artist

The Mandorla Committee grieves the loss of the Rev Bob Booth, who’s faith and love for God shone through in his love for others and in the creation of art. Bob was recipient of a highly commended prize and the People’s Choice in 2010, contributing a contemporary interpretation of that year’s theme, “Who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:25-37). Reflecting on that artwork, pictured below, he informed the Committee that the addition of a recognisably Muslim head dress was an impulse of the Spirit felt in the completion of the painting.

As part of our honouring of Rev Bob Booth’s life, we have been given permission to share an excerpt of the homily from his funeral given by The Most Reverend Kay Goldsworthy AO, Archbishop of Perth.

“Psalms 139 reads, “O Lord, you have searched me out and known me… Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day.”

These words could have been written for Bob who saw beyond his limited physical eyesight and drew others to the grace and beauty of God’s creation and the intricacies of people lives and stories as he encountered them and sometimes painted them. Bob carried his faith with quiet strength and through the eyes of faith, he saw the world with extraordinary clarity. Through his hands, with brush and paint, he gave that vision back to us in images that stirred the soul, some of which brought Scripture alive.

Bob saw God’s story not only on the pages of the Bible, but in the faces of the people he served. He brought the stories of Jesus, of healing and hope, of call and compassion, out of the text and into colour. His canvases became sermons, full of parables, presence and praise. Like the psalmist, he knew that God’s hand was upon him, guiding and shaping his journey, even in times of sorrow, loss, and renewal.

Psalm 139 says, do not be afraid of the darkness, for God dwells even there. Don’t be afraid of grief, for Christ meets us in our tears. And in the love of Christ don’t be afraid of death, for resurrection is the lived experience of Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, and the promise of a place prepared for each of us.

The last brushstroke is not the end. The canvas continues in the life of God, where this priest and painter now sees fully, loves fully, worships fully. We commend him to the arms of the Creator who knew him before he was formed, who walked with him in every valley, and who now receives him into everlasting joy.”