WHEN the Reverend Paul Burkitt went to his doctor about a persistent mouth ulcer, he didn't really want to waste his GP's time.
After all, it was probably something or nothing.
Three weeks later the Hull vicar was undergoing a 12-hour operation to save his life and remove a cancerous tumour, which meant having glands in his neck and half his tongue removed.
So to see him fighting fit and looking enthusiastically to the future in his church, the historic 14th-century St Mary's in Lowgate, city centre, is a massive reversal of fortunes in just six short months.
"If I wasn't a Christian I would be thanking my lucky stars," laughs the 65-year-old priest. "But I obviously think the man upstairs had some plans for me to go and do more work.
"I'd only been married three weeks when I got the diagnosis. I didn't actually cry for myself, but I did cry when I thought I had to tell my wife Angela that I had cancer."
Now in remission, swimming a mile a week to rebuild stamina and planning a summer of exhibitions and concerts at the Lowgate church, Mr Burkitt is re-energised and determined to make a difference in Hull.
So energised, in fact, that he will come out of retirement and be officially reinstalled as the priest-in-charge at St Mary's next month.
The vicar, who, as a young priest in London, slept rough four nights a week to immerse himself in the local homeless community, now plans to redouble efforts to reach out to "those less fortunate than ourselves" in Hull and also establish St Mary's as a community artistic space that can be used seven days a week.
"People ask me if my faith helped me get through and the answer is 'yes'," he says.
"I think it's a Macmillan phrase that they say you don't want to be alone with cancer and, for me, it helped me to know that I wasn't alone; God was there with me all the way.
"It is a scary thing to face and if anyone is ever in a similar position and wants to talk about it, I'll always be here to listen.
"The surgeons and support staff at Hull Royal Infirmary were amazing though. I owe my life to them.
"How do you thank someone who's saved your life? It's impossible. But I'd like to say I'm very thankful.
"When you go through something like this it very much makes you re-evaluate life and look at what's important and what isn't.
"It makes you realise not to take anything for granted."
His speech is slightly affected, but not so he cannot eloquently set out his vision for the church, and the only overt physical sign of the trauma the Mr Burkitt has been through is the long, pink scar running along the length of his left arm, where the surgeons took tissue and a vein to help rebuild the floor of his mouth.
With a typically self-deprecating shrug, Mr Burkitt says getting used to his new tongue has been "slightly strange" – "I can't lick envelopes anymore," he jokes – but other than that he is well on the road to recovery.
One of the hardest parts of recovery, he says, was having to eat liquidised Christmas dinner through a pipe directly into his stomach because of a tracheotomy, but he was determined to make it back to St Mary's for midnight mass on Christmas Eve – a target he successfully achieved.
The likeable, down-to-earth clergyman is in good spirits and relishing what he sees as being given a second chance – and he intends to use it to make St Mary's a thriving community hub.
Architectural plans have been drawn up to create a new café, performance space and toilet facilities inside the medieval, grade two listed church, which Mr Burkitt and his team hope will enable St Mary's to continue serving the people of Hull for centuries to come.
Funding bids are being prepared for the £750,000 scheme – with private donations "always welcome" says the vicar.
And, following a successful arts festival in the church last year, St Mary's will now host a series of concerts and events throughout the summer, starting on Saturday, July 12, with a concert by Transylvanian jazz singer Edina Molnar.
Other artists lined up include flautist Claire Holdich and Spanish blues playing guitarist Claude Bourbon, who will both perform on Saturday, July 19.
Running throughout the summer will be on-going exhibitions by artists including Robert Gardham and photographers Dez Green and John Howes.
Rev Burkitt sees an element of "purity" and the divine in artistic creation, he says, and aims to have as much creativity in the church as possible going forward.
"I want St Mary's to be open to all aspects of the community. In fact, on occasion, we've had the odd judge from the Crown Court sitting in here on a lunchtime looking for a bit of peace and quiet and then someone who was standing in the dock ten minutes earlier will come in after," he laughs. "It's a case of 'don't I recognise you?'
"But we're opening up the church to these artistic endeavours because we're sitting in one of the most sacred hidden spaces in the whole of Hull.
"Plus, it's the oldest, dating from 1333.
"It's a church that belongs to the city and we want to see it being used by all the people of Hull.
"Our plans are to make St Mary's much more useful and relevant to the demands of the 21st century. It's our responsibility to make it ready to hand on to the next generation and the generation after that.
"We need to change with the times or we will be become a dinosaur – but I think St Mary's has so much more offer yet."
For show and ticket details, visit www.stmarylowgate.org.uk or the church's Facebook page. To book tickets, call 01482 218879.
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