The Beneficial - Summer 2026

I wonder when you last paused to drink in the full beauty of a dramatic sunset? It’s not often that we’re in the right place or have time to stop, yet they’re breathtaking. We tend to view them as an exquisite marking to the day’s end and all that has gone before. Yet in Hebrew thought, sundown marks the beginning of the day and all that is to come after a period of rest.

This summer we find ourselves in a similar transition as our Rector of 16 years, Philip, retires. We celebrate and give thanks for all he has been and the richness and beauty he has brought to our churches and our lives. But we also look forward to a new day and new horizons, as yet unseen, and the adventure that lies ahead.

When the resurrected Jesus was about to leave his followers and friends for the last time, he promised to be with them always. It’s a puzzling comment. Yet it’s the experience of countless millions through the ages that in times of leaving, of change, of uncertainty, we are not abandoned but held and led on as new days dawn and new vistas unfold before us.

Rev Debbie Pow, Associate Priest