Dear Friends
‘Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint’ (Isaiah 40: 31)
The core team of clergy and local missional leaders from our four churches have been thinking and praying the last couple of months, and agreed that the above will be our new team verse for the remainder of this year and moving into the next. I hope you will agree that this seems a very appropriate verse at present. We all need a sense of hope at the current time, and Isaiah assures us that if we hope in the Lord, we will renew our strength. That we will run and not grow weary, that we will walk and not be faint.
I don’t know about you but I have been feeling weary in recent weeks – wearied by the ongoing challenge of living life under restrictions, wearied by the challenge of maintaining church online and offline, wearied to some extent by the predictability of daily life. I haven’t always felt like this – during the first month of lockdown, life was quite exhilarating, finding new ways of working and doing new things (like Alpha) online. But, after 4 months of that, I am feeling weary. Maybe you are too? In which case, it’s important to remember that we need to put our hope and trust in the Lord, for he will renew our strength.
One of the things which I have mentioned in my team letters from time to time is the role of Team Treasurer. I have largely been doing this (by default) since Jan Plimmer stood down as Team Administrator at the end of 2017. I’m attaching a role description and person specification to this letter (link). It’s not a huge job, I estimate it takes 1-2 hours per week so if you think you might be able to help, please do let me know.
It’s good to note that this month all of our Team churches will have reopened, with St.Philip’s commencing worship again on 16th and 30th August, and St.James’ re-opening on 23rd and 30th August. St.Mary’s continues to open on Sunday mornings for Communion at 8am, and on Wednesday mornings at 10am, whilst St.Paul’s currently is open at 10.30a.m. on Sundays. If you have not yet ventured back to church, perhaps this month is a good month to consider doing that, however I appreciate that not everyone will feel ready to do that yet.
Finally, looking ahead to 2021, the core team are proposing a Team Celebration Communion Service on Sunday 16 May (the nearest Sunday to Ascension Day, when our team was officially launched back in 2014). An opportunity to gather as team churches around the Lord’s Table to be fed and nourished by him and, all being well, to share food together afterwards.
With my best wishes and prayers. Jeremy Tear, Pioneer Team Rector
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