Dear Friends

Firstly, Rob and I would like to thank all of you who have made us so welcome since arriving in King’s Somborne a few weeks ago. The licensing service on Tuesday was a joyous occasion and thank you so much for everyone who worked so hard to make it happen, both in the church and in the schoolroom.

It is always challenging moving house, and yet we have been made so welcome by church members, by the pub and the shop, the coffee morning and cinema night that it feels like home already. We have several more venues in the village we have yet to visit, and look forward to exploring them over the coming weeks.

We have eaten the best Victoria sponge we have ever tasted, made by Dulcie, we have been royally wined and dined and now it is time to start work….

One question I always pose to the children when I first visit a new school is … What does a Vicar do? I have had some very interesting answers over the years, too numerous to note here, but it seems to me my most important function is just to be. Be here when I am needed, and just to prayerfully be, when I am not.

One of the most common misconceptions the children have, and indeed some adults as well, is that a Vicar is only here for churchgoers. Nothing could be further from the truth, we are here for everyone, of any faith or none. Just as God, in whatever form or shape he may take for us individually is here for all of us, so we as priests are here for anyone in our locality in need of a listening ear.

John Vanier, a Swiss-born Roman Catholic social activist, theologian and philosopher said this

‘We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love.’

This statement is enforced for me by some verses from 1 John 4

‘Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.’

I hope to shape and frame my ministry here by those two phrases, but I do need your help as what Vicars don’t arrive with, is a crystal ball, so if you or a friend or neighbour needs help, please do let me know.

Yours in Christ

Anne.