A pastoral letter from the Vicar, the Revd. Canon Rosemary Donovan

As I begin writing this letter it is Epiphany, the festival that remembers how the Christ-Child was revealed to the nations. It is a day in which as Christians we long for Christ to be made manifest in our world today. We long to see His kingdom come and His will be done especially as much of our world is in turmoil and in desperate need of God’s reconciling love and healing power. It’s also a day marked by remorse as Justin Welby relinquishes his role as Archbishop of Canterbury and we wait for the unfurling of a new chapter for the Church of England. We continue to lament with sadness abuses that have occurred within the church and pray for all victims and survivors as well as resolving to do better and change practices in light of this. Consequently, it’s not a celebratory tone that we begin this new year with but one of sober reflection and anticipation of change.

Most of us fear change even though it’s inevitable. Change can be for the better or worse but usually I find if you embrace it and approach it positively even the less desirable aspects of change can be opportunities for growth and new life.

So, what’s new for me and for Christ Church in this new year?

In just a few weeks I will be embarking on a period of extended ministerial developmental leave. This is a privilege granted to clergy for a period of 3 months after every ten years of ministry. I say privilege because that’s what it feels like. I am very fortunate to have this opportunity and to be blessed with such supportive colleagues and congregation to enable this to happen. I am looking forward to stepping back from active ministry for a while to refresh and recharge ready for a further ten years.

I have several retreats planned as well as participating in the Windsor Leadership Development Programme. Craig, my biggest supporter, also deserves a break so our music department will see some changes throughout this time. We will decamp to Bridgnorth for some weeks and are planning a fantastic trip to the States enjoying a culinary and musical tour. There is a big pile of books waiting to be read as well as lovely walks with the dogs to be enjoyed as I pray and reflect on where God is calling us as a parish now. This will not be a fallow time, and change will be inevitable as part of this.

Neither do I expect Christ Church to stand still and wait for me. This will continue to be a busy time, and I know Sue, Esther, Berwick and Sofia as well as Andy, Fay and Tricia will continue to work with dedication as faithfully as they always do. Thanks in advance to them, the pastoral team and many others who commit so much time and energy to building Christ’s Kingdom here in their witness and service to our local community.

Christ Church’s longstanding vision of being a Living Well, a place of resource for our parish, continues to be a priority. To this end the PCC have been working on the redevelopment of our premises collaborating with our architect and other professionals to improve and update our facilities to make the best use of our resources. The DAC has approved the design concept of a pod to provide accessible toilet and hospitality facilities within the church to allow for us to increase revenue and sustainability long term. This is needed to improve safeguarding especially when the hall is rented out. The next stage is to produce a detailed design and go out to tender so it is highly unlikely this will happen before Easter. However, we are conscious that until we can afford the full extension of the hall, we need to make some intermediary improvements as part of our Net Carbon Zero response. Consequently, we have appointed Four Contracting to carry out the replacement of the windows with double glazing and redecorate throughout which will give a much-needed facelift as well as opportunity for increased revenue. This will mean the hall is unavailable for meetings for a few weeks January - February. Wheels & Squeals will be rehoused, and other users have been contacted.

Resourcing ourselves as disciples of Christ so that we can also be living well is the reason for many of our activities whether they be learning, social, compassionate or outreach programs. We are running a day’s workshop on listening and trialling the bereavement journey as well as exploring the Bible in more detail throughout Lent. There are many new and different social events being planned for 2025 too including wine tasting on 29th March (which I’ll be sad to miss) and a day trip to the seaside in the summer. There is a lot to look forward to but ultimately it is my prayer that we all be changed as we are transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ. This is not something to be feared as we become more and more the community that God wants us to be.

Our community is growing and changing partly because we have already embraced change by establishing Bubble Church twice monthly and increasing our outreach with young people. This year will see a full revision of our electoral roll which will be an opportunity to welcome and embrace many new faces who have joined us in recent months. It is the welcoming and inclusive nature of our community that continues to attract and for that I thank you all for being so generous and hospitable. It is also the depth of our care for one another that makes Christ Church such a great community to belong to. Keep doing these things and we shall undoubtedly see God doing new things amongst us.

As a Deanery we shall be embarking on the second cycle of the Parish Needs Process which enables the PCC to review and set new targets for growing disciples, diversity and community. We look forward to working with David Senior our appointed Mission Enabler to help us identify new priorities for the next few years.

The future is always an unknown and unsettling entity however I find much encouragement in the wonderful quote from the “Gate of the Year” poem by Minnie Louise Haskins:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,

“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied:

“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

So I went forth, and finding the hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

Let us put our hands into God’s hands and see what 2025 brings.

Please pray for Craig and I as we have this rest time and be assured you will always be in our prayers.

Yours in Christ,

Rosemary