My dear friends

This will be my final pastoral letter before Scott joins us as our new Rector. It has been great fun composing them and my thanks to all of you who have said gracious things to me about their contents over the months.

The month of June (and, for that matter, the summer months) should be about

R & R – rest and renewal. It is not just that our bodies need R & R but also our soul. “Renewal” of the soul presupposes a willingness to engage in re-examination of what is making the soul tick or not, as the case may be. It seems to me that this is the perfect time, just before Scott arrives, for us to embark on this task of both personal self-examination and collective examination as a congregation. Quite rightly we each have our expectations, desires, hopes and possibly even fears as to what the reality of a new Rector might mean at St Margaret’s. However, I want to issue a challenge by asking – what about the other side of the coin? Is there not a legitimate expectation that Scott can have of us? To put it another way, what kind of a congregation is he going to find both individually and collectively?

I appreciate that I have raised a number of rhetorical questions. It would be an impertinence of the highest order for me to attempt to answer that on your behalf. Only you know what is truly in your heart and what ultimately motivates you. If Scott is to forge ahead with a vibrant and a dynamic congregation, that is precisely what he will need by way of raw materials – vibrancy and dynamism. If each of us examines our soul and comes to the conclusion that, for whatever reason, we do not feel (spiritually) “vibrant” or “dynamic” then what do we propose to do about it?

I hasten to add, that I am not attempting to damn you with faint praise nor am I suggesting that, from my point of view, you are a “dead” congregation. Far from it! It is precisely because I have such great affection for you that I desire for each and everyone one of you that you be very best you can be – at peace with yourself and with others. With such material the Holy Spirit can and will perform the most amazing miracles. You owe no less to yourselves and to Scott. At the very heart of all of this is prayer – the constant calling upon the Holy Spirit to illumine our path and ever seek to be in His will whether that will be personal or corporate. If you are not already in the habit then I urge you keep Scott in the forefront of your prayer intentions.

St Theresa of Avila (along with St Benedict and St Ignatius of Loyola: my trio of favourite spiritual “gurus”) was fond of stressing that God operated in both the mundane and in the lofty realms of spiritual experience. There was no aspect of human endeavour however mundane or “boring” that was not subject to the interest and will of God. She was fond of calling this insight “the God of the pots and pans”.

With all due humility and with a great deal of brass-neck I am going to re-phrase this as “the God of the sun-block cream and the i-pod”. So, as you soak up the summer sun listening to your favourite chill-out track, remember to pray for yourself, for Scott and your church family.

Happy holidays!

Yours in Christ,

Paul