Dear friends,
Each
season brings change, whether it’s the leaves falling through Autumn, the year
ending and beginning in Winter, or the world waking and giving birth during
Spring. And Summer……
Summer may
sometime seem to be the season of contrasting fruitfulness and restfulness,
with ripe crops and school holidays, but for us this year it is certainly a
season of change.
This
Summer we bid farewell to ministers Ian and Sarah, and their respective spouses
Tabitha and John. Both colleagues have
been here since the birth of the Bradford North circuit, and Sarah a good deal
longer. Both have contributed deeply
and significantly to the life of the circuit and its churches, bringing
distinctive gifts and personalities through which God has richly blessed us. We
are going to miss them muchly!!!
At the
time of writing, we are still planning their farewell service on July 20th;
by the time you read this it will have happened and they will be on their way
to Abingdon and Bradford (South not North) respectively. They go with our thanks and blessing.
And soon
we will welcome Rev Christine Crabtree and her husband Stephen into our
ministerial team. They join us from Lincoln,
and will live in the Ollerdale Avenue manse.
A circuit service at Northcliffe on the evening of Monday September 1st
will be the first opportunity to welcome them.
Christine is very much looking forward to working in team ministry, and
we are looking forward to working with her.
Two going,
one coming. We are still exploring
possibilities with the URC and Methodism regarding our vacancy, but are most
grateful that Rev Andrew Taylor has agreed to remain with us, initially for a
further six months, to help us through this period. Andrew will be working part-time (0.7), and I
continue to hear rich appreciation of his ministry among us.
We are also hopeful that we may have a new Children’s
Ministry Enabler in post for September. We are missing Sharon, but by the time you read this, adverts will have
gone and hopefully interviews happened and good news of an appointment be ready
to be shared.
In our
churches change comes too. Some
stewards will be coming to the end of their time, and new ones beginning. In some ways, church stewards are the unsung
heroes of church life, and it’s appropriate to offer a word of thanks and
appreciation. Perhaps you might do that
to your stewards, whether they are finishing or not! Other office holders too – ‘Thank you’ is in
order.
So Summer
rolls on, and September looms. For those
who are leaving, arriving, or staying, God continues to invite us to join in
with the work of loving, caring, sharing the good news of hope and peace and
life in all its fullness. May we be
blessed in the work of blessing others.
Yours,
Rev Nick
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