November 2008 - Welcome

Moving On

I have recently had removal firms come to the Rectory to look over our possessions with a view to packing them on a van and taking them to Towcester. They all tend to ask the same question “What are you taking with you and what are you leaving behind?”

I find I am asking myself the same question as Carol and I contemplate taking our leave of the Three Parishes. We are taking with us six years of shared experiences. We have received friendship, hospitality and learnt much of other people’s Christian Pilgrimage. I have sought to share something of God’s calling and equipping over the 39 years of my ministry in the Church of England. Although we do not know what the future holds for us as individuals, as churches or communities; when we put our trust in the unchanging God, we do know who holds the future.

When the removal men finish looking at everything and tick all their sheets then they ask “Where is it you are going?” In one sense the answer is easy – Towcester – and the reason for our move is retirement. One piece of advice I have consistently been given is that life will be even busier than having a full-time job!

Moving on is a universal experience of life’s journey. Whether we have physically moved around the country or the globe, we all need to have some idea of where we are heading. For Christians, Jesus Christ is both the Way and the destination. Myself and Carol thank God for the six years of our life’s journey we have spent in the Three Parishes.

May God continue to bless you on your journey.