Good news . . . . and bad news.

The good news first - Rob is making slow and steady progress after his major heart surgery, although there have been a few ‘blips’ along the way with his medication. He is gradually returning to light duties and we all appreciate that very much.

The bad news - almost unbelievably we didn’t receive a single application for the post of our vicar and we are having to re-advertise at the end of this month. This does seem to be a trend at present but we are hoping and praying for a better response next time. Fortunately we opted for the more expensive ‘until filled’ option when advertising in the Church Times, which means that we can continue to advertise until an appointment is made at no extra cost to ourselves. The Vacancy Committee took a long hard look at the Parish Profile and made a few changes and re-ordered the document so that all the key information an applicant needs is easily accessible. Two members of our congregation have written prayers for our new priest and these will be used at our services going forward.

We had a wonderful Easter season with varied services (Stations of the Cross, Compline, Maundy Thursday Eucharist and Good Friday reflections) during Holy Week and we were delighted to welcome more people than usual to these services with the highlight of 80+ people joining us on Easter Day.

We are now looking ahead to Ascension Day and Pentecost. We shall have an Ascension Day Communion service at 7.00 pm on Thursday, 29th May and a Pentecost Praise service at 6.00 pm on Sunday, 8th June. During these two dates there is an ecumenical initiative called ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ whereby we are all asked to think about five friends to pray for, that they will come to know the love of God. The theme this year is the Lord’s Prayer and there are Prayer Journals and Novenas to help, alongside the Thy Kingdom Come website and app.

Everyone is working incredibly hard to maintain the life of the church - both the services and the community and fundraising events - and, together with all the clergy who support our services so well, we must, as always, express our deep and heartfelt thanks to all.

Lynne Philpot and Rob Kirk

Churchwardens