Founder of The Cara Trust
Fr. David Randall

Ordained in 1971 by Bishop Trevor Huddlestone as an ‘out’ gay priest, David Randall undertook a variety of ministries around London before the Bishop of Kensington invited him to take over the parish of St. Clement in Ladbroke Grove in 1977.

Under his leadership, St. Clement’s was transformed from a quiet local church into a vibrant community space with a youth centre and involvement in the Notting Hill Carnival. Towards the end of David’s 10 years at St. Clement’s, HIV & AIDS was starting to become a major issue globally and in the UK.

At that time the Church was, at best, ambivalent about HIV and ill-prepared for providing a mission to people living with the virus. The Bishop suggested that David take a year-long sabbatical to San Francisco to see what was really needed. Unsurprisingly, San Francisco was a baptism of fire, challenging all of his notions of what makes a good priest, working in an area where congregations had been decimated by HIV & AIDS.

On his return to London, David worked 2 days a week at St. Stephen’s Hospital (now rebuilt as Chelsea & Westminster hospital), where his skills as ‘a priest who understood’ quickly became indispensable to patients, friends and families. This helped him clarify what his role might be in the UK’s emerging HIV epidemic. On June 1st 1988, supported by a 3-year salary from Laings and a host of friends, Cara was created. Pastoral visits and funerals were arranged. Volunteers dropped in, and money was found to train them as well as employ an Administrator. Levels of ignorance and prejudice were sky high.

On November 1st 1988, David received his own positive HIV diagnosis. He later wrote: ‘It is crucial for all those of us involved in HIV/AIDS work to know that the issues raised, first and foremost, are our own. Boundless loving activity on behalf of others is abusive if we are really hating ourselves, and hijacking other people’s experience of pain in order to make our selves feel better’.
He continued working tirelessly for Cara, forging close links with other organisations and even preaching in Westminster Abbey.

In 1993 Charles, his partner, died of AIDS. David was devastated and his own health began to deteriorate. Towards the end, after he’d lost his sight and was increasingly frail, he said ‘As I get near my death, I feel there’s got to be a crisis in the world to help us reassess our priorities. Perhaps AIDS may be a part of that crisis’. Fiercely honest, he made many people in the church uncomfortable, and yet was also presented with the Lambeth Medal, a rare honour, by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

David Randall died peacefully at London Lighthouse on August 13th 1996.