Good evening all,

Lent is upon us! Are you marking the season in any way? I must confess that I had a few good intentions and here we are one day in and I’ve already not sustained my efforts! I read somewhere that it is about progress not perfection so perhaps I will try again tomorrow and see if I can do a little better. The important thing is to try and understand why we do the things we do, rather than measure the success – easy to say, not so easy if you are as competitive as I am!!

What news do I have for you this week? Well, perhaps I should alert you to the fifth Sunday service that is happening this month, which happens to fall on Mothering Sunday I really am very pleased indeed that Bishop Cherry is with us that day and we will be holding the service in St. Matthew’s Church, Monkswood. She hasn’t been to this pretty little church and it is a wonderful opportunity for us to gather and worship together, led by our bishop. Parking at the church is extremely restricted but I know you are a resourceful lot. Please can you try to car share as much as possible. There is parking in the closed down pub about 100yds along the road, and a little bit of parking in the residential side street that is along the road too. If you have a problems with transport please let me know. I will probably cycle there, but I know that’s not an option for everyone 🙂 

If you are at a loose end on Saturday may I suggest that a trip to St. Mary’s Church in Usk might be worthwhile? They are having a day exploring the history of the church which is interactive and suitable for all ages. There are costumes, refreshments (medieval style!) guides, and lots of activities and artefacts. I even believe that a piece of treasure was found in the safe that is on display after many many years. Pop along, if you have time, you won’t be disappointed.

Lastly, please accept our continued thanks for the love and prayers you are surrounding us with. We are praying for all of you too, so please don’t hesitate to ask for specific prayers – keep in touch , as clergy we pray well and want to support, even as we are being supported.

And now, time to close. Not quite a day off tomorrow as there are Lenten Stations of the Cross in St. Mary’s Usk (3pm). Come along if you fancy it!

With love as always,

Sally xxxx

Please note that Friday is usually my rest day. Emails received on Friday may not be responded to until after the weekend. Thank you for your understanding.

Good afternoon Friends,

How is your week going? We are at that stage in the seasons when both the snowdrops and the daffodils are in bloom together – it really is a lovely sight. Every year I forget about the snowdrops until I see them, and it’s as though it is the first time, every year, when they pop up – so beautiful! I wonder why I get caught by surprise year on year on year?

 A couple of reminders for you – we have a bilingual service in Usk at 10.30 on St. David’s Day to celebrate our patron saint – do come along, no Welsh is necessary, but some might be enjoyed 🙂

Then on Wednesday next week we begin Lent. Our Lent course kicks off and we have services for Ash Wednesday. I’ve attached details for both these things. Doing something for Lent  is encouraged, nothing is compulsory, and everyone is welcome. Please be in touch if you would like to know more.

And with that, I’m going to sign off. A quiet meal with Will this evening and then we are going to go to the museum in Cardiff tomorrow to see the Strike exhibition. A much needed change of scene and distraction from everything.

Thank you for your continued prayers and kindness, 

You know where I am, please be in touch if you need me,

love Sally xxx

Please note that Friday is usually my rest day. Emails received on Friday may not be responded to until after the weekend. Thank you for your understanding.

Good evening friends,

We continue to be deeply grateful for all your love and prayers, thank you all. Will and I are gently picking up the work that feels manageable and over the next couple of weeks I will be out and about more, so please be in touch if you need anything. Helen, Bill and Stephen continue to be very busy and willing, and I won’t hesitate to seek their input on anything that you are in touch with – the team is pulling together wonderfully, another thing to be immensely grateful for. 

In other news just an early alert to Lent – I know, it’s coming soon! Helen has been working with the team to organise our Lent course, I’ve attached the poster for you, to get the details. Every group is offering the same material so if your diary is busy, you can mix and match where you go from week to week. In an effort to add some quality to our Eco church statuses, we are also inviting you all to take part in a carbon fast. Details will follow nearer the time. Plenty to do, please join in as and when you are able.

I’m not sure I have anything else for this week’s letter, but please know that you are all in my prayers – my prayer life is more important than ever, and praying for you all, our churches, communities, and futures, is so important. Please let me know if I can pray for anything specific.

With love and thanks,

Sally xxxx

Please note that Friday is usually my rest day. Emails received on Friday may not be responded to until after the weekend. Thank you for your understanding.

Good afternoon my lovely friends,

This is coming a day early, written in a quiet moment to just say thank you and thank you and thank you to you all for the kindness you’ve shown this week.

If you have not heard yet, one of our children died unexpectedly at the weekend. Isaac. He was 20 years old. 

Your kind words, actions, gifts, and prayers are like a warm blanket of comfort and hope in a strange time and we are very grateful.

Thank you for your patience as we work out how we are going to navigate this. I will probably not do any little videos for a week or two, and other communication will be sporadic. We are immensely grateful to Helen, Stephen, and Bill as they pick up all that needs doing, alongside a multitude of lay people doing amazing stuff. Thank you.

If you don’t know what to do for us – please pray, especially for our family near and far, as we all settle to the news. We will come through this – God is good. While we find out how to do that, thank you for your patience.

With our love, 

Sally and Will xx

Good evening friends,

I trust that you are all well and February has begun well for you? I seem to have ticked off a few really key tasks this week, which is good, but I rather wish there were eight days in every week. I just never seem to get to that book I bought which I thought was essential reading, or get to visit that project or event a colleague is planning that we might like to consider ourselves. We are all working so hard and I am immensely grateful for all that you do. I was reminded today of the really useful and varied support we can seek from the diocesan office, so if there’s anything you’re struggling with and would like help with, let me know, and let’s see what we can do 🙂

It was a joy to welcome thirty of you over the last four weeks, to consider the breadth and depth of the welcome that we offer each other and those new to our churches. We did this in the context of a variety of biblical passages and sharing our own experiences. Well done to those who came along, and if you didn’t, please don’t worry – ask around and find out what we learnt and what we might be doing in all our churches to ensure that everyone feels welcome and wanted.

Finally, I would like to remind you that we will be saying goodbye to Rev’d Sue on Sunday as she takes a short period of leave before beginning her new ministry as a hospital chaplain. The service begins at 11am but there is coffee and tea being served beforehand. It all happens in St. Peter’s Church Goytre and it would be lovely to see as many of you as possible. This will be the only service in the Ministry Area on Sunday and will be Sue’s final working day amongst us.

And with that I shall sign off. Hopefully I will see you on Sunday, and you know how to be in touch if I can help in any way.

With my love and prayers,

Sally xxxxx 

Please note that Friday is usually my rest day. Emails received on Friday may not be responded to until after the weekend. Thank you for your understanding.

Good evening all,

We are nearly there! Saturday begins the month of February! Saturday also happens to be my favourite saint’s day – St. Brigid. It was a feisty and determined woman, not afraid to speak truth to power and to be generous to all. Quite a position to aspire to! Do you have a favourite saint? And if you do, why?

What do I have to share with you this week?

Well, the Welcome Course continues, with just one more session next Wednesday – 6.30pm in Usk Church. Attendance has been impressive and the conversations have been challenging and deep. Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far. Do come along to the last one if you would like to – nothing will be wasted by giving it a try 🙂

Another date for your diary is this Sunday when Bishop Cherry will be with us at 3pm in Usk Church for confirmations and baptisms. I think there might be a little confusion about the time of this service, for which I apologise. Everyone is welcome and it promises to be a joyous celebration as several of our friends take their next seps in their faith story. Come along and offer them your support!

Also, you might like to pop a date in your diary about a service to celebrate St. David. It is on 1^st March in Usk Church at 10.30am. We will sing, listen to readings and poetry, and celebrate all things Welsh, in Welsh (with a smattering of English because, you know, I’m from Kent!) and you are all welcome!

Finally, let me tell you about some conversations I’ve been having over the last week or two, about the importance of recognising and celebrating everything that our friends and family offer us. It’s so easy to get caught up in what we think are the important things, and not notice the passing acts of kindness, the little gestures of love, and the moments of care and attention that we perhaps have begun to take for granted. Jesus demonstrates for us, an extraordinary attention to detail in all the care that he offers, and I invite you to take a moment, to notice, to give thanks, and to maybe pass on those things which others do and say that make a positive difference in your life. It is my prayer that we can all encounter something of God through the way we treat each other, in the big and the small. 

Let me know what you notice!

Colossians 3:2 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

With my love as always,

Sally xxx

Please note that Friday is usually my rest day. Emails received on Friday may not be responded to until after the weekend. Thank you for your understanding.

Good evening all,

It’s been another busy week with a MAC meeting, lots of school stuff and training (both delivering and receiving). I could stand to have a couple of clear days to take a good run at getting some of the big pieces of work done, and clearing some of the admin, but those things always seem to just get squeezed in. 

I must confess I’m typing this whilst listening to Will teach a lovely bunch of people all about how to pray using beads. There will be wine shortly so I’m on a bit of a time frame since I’m doing the pouring. We have spent the day in clergy training listening to lots of good stuff about welcoming people, offering invitation to church, and how we might be encouraged to open our doors a little wider. It tied in very well with our Welcome Course which we are half way through. Much to reflect upon – we do lots right and also have much to learn 🙂

There’s not much to tell you this week I don’t think. We are settling back into our usual routines and patterns, and I’m doing my best not to forget too many things and to be out and about as much as possible.

Please can I ask for your prayers? As we prepare for Sue to leave, and get used to Sarah having moved on, we all know change is difficult and can leave us anxious and worried for the future. This season is no different – I am already aware that some are wondering what the future will look like, and what might happen next. There is also a natural season of change in the way that the MAC is working, and the combination of the two means quite a lot of additional admin for me, as well as the sharing out of duties, ministry responsibilities, and leadership activities. Change change change!

I firmly believe that God will lead us in a good direction and your prayers to help us think this through and look after each other well would be much appreciated. Thank you very very much. I am hugely comforted knowing that you all pray so well.

And with that I will finish. I shall pour the wine, clear up afterwards, and then tomorrow we are off to Bristol for Harry’s graduation. Celebration is such an important part of life.

With lots of love to you,

Sally xxxx

Please note that Friday is usually my rest day. Emails received on Friday may not be responded to until after the weekend. Thank you for your understanding.