His final ecclesiastical appointment before retirement was as Chaplain to the Anglican Church in Nice, France, and he established a family home in Monte Carlo.
[7] The Sunday Mirror newspaper reported that Pelling could raise the same money by selling one painting, as working for three months as a clergyman.
For example, "Maternal Movement", which is displayed at the Chelsea Arts Club[8] appears to show an embryo and an umbilical cord, and the angular designs below the central subject appear to represent the female reproductive organs (female genitalia feature in many of Pelling's works), but the non-abstract intrusion of a monstrance containing the sacramental host clearly points to the subject being the unborn Jesus Christ in his mother's womb.
[10] Pelling has stated that his use of strong primary colours is a reflection of his experience of "the contrasts of parish work [in the Church of England] and its intensity".
It has been observed that this position is in stark contrast to Pelling's love of women generally, and of painting nude female forms in particular.
[6] In 1998 Pelling staged an exhibition at the Air Gallery, Dover Street, London, of paintings depicting his opposition to women priests and bishops.