The Lord be with you!
In preparation for Vestry, I have read the various reports submitted and I must admit we have a lot to be thankful to God for.
Ministry has increased and our services have been wonderful in 2019. St Mary’s as always has been a place of healing, of love and of grace. We have overcome in many ways and we should be praising God and thanking Him for His love for us.
Our Finances remain stressed and we will need to continue to improve our stewardship – I need to repeat my statement from last year, when we speak of the parish being financially stressed, we mean its people. We are all under financial pressure – but we must hope in the Lord and we must redefine our lives in terms of simplicity, in terms of” walking gently on the earth,” being good steward of our time, our energy, and our finances.
As a Diocese we are hurting, and we need healing. I am grateful for the call to prayer and for what we as a Diocese will do on Saturday 25th.
I am part of a task team convening a Diocesan Dialogue on the 28th of March, so in January we will listen to God and digest what we hear and then in March we will dialogue about putting what God has laid on our hearts into action. Pray for continued prayer and action in the Diocese, pray for healing and for wisdom and that our process will draw us into the presence of God and His will.
I am very grateful to every one of you for your input into the life of our church over this past year, and I pray that you will continue to seek to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and that your life in the parish will empower, encourage and exhort you in His service.
Let us all commit ourselves anew to serve our God in this place and to the honour of His Name.
To the Council – I look forward to serving with you and to growing in wisdom and strength so that the Kingdom of God may come upon this community as it is in heaven.
Be assured of my prayers.
Rector.
