Good evening friends,

Gosh there’s a lot going on at the moment – lots of it is positive and forward looking, some of it is sad and needs gentle care – all good stuff in terms of ministry but lots to hold and lots to pray about.

This week is an especially important weekend in the life of the church generally and for us locally. On Saturday there will be ordinations in the cathedral at 10.30am. These services are a wonderful reminder to us all that God calls us in different and amazing ways. Some are called to serve in their communities as essential lay people, with ministries so varied and essential to the life of the church. Others are called to be “set apart” in the words of the ordinal, to minister as ordained people. Thank goodness there are those who are willing to listen attentively and respond to whatever call God asks of them. 

This weekend Bill Savage will be ordained as a priest, amongst colleagues, friends, and family, and will then have his first service of Holy Communion/Holy Eucharist/Mass on Sunday 30^th June, 10.30am in St. Jerome’s Church, Llangwm. This will be Bill\s first time consecrating the bread and wine for us, and offering God’s blessing, so it promises to be a joyous and emotional service. The singing will be glorious, the choir are on good form, and there will be refreshments in Bill’s and Lyn’s garden just along the lane from the church. Please bring a plate of food with you if you would like to stay for a bit to eat. There is plenty of parking in a field on the lane and transport back and forth the church if it is too far to walk. Please do come to the cathedral and/or St. Jerome’s. Both will be a moment to give thanks to God, and celebrate all our ministries, as Bill takes his next steps in his.

Please do keep all those being ordained this weekend, and their families, in your prayers. We can sometimes forget that ordination affects a whole family, I certainly could not be who I am without the support of all those around me.

Finally a quick thank you to all those of you who have offered positive feedback on the summer rota. There are a few little details to iron out, with regard to who is leading some of the services, but other than that I think we will manage very well this summer. Being able to make best use of our priests, and also having a structure that will cope with holiday and illness, as well as other surprises that occasionally come flying our way, is a relief to those of us who try so hard to provide the services that churches want, and has allowed us to plan ahead a little better than before. Critical constructive feedback is always welcome!

Whoops, one last final!! On Tuesday 2^nd July at 7pm we have the third of our Leading your Church Into Growth sessions before we break for the summer. Please come along, even if you missed the first two – we are having some excellent conversations and digging deep into thinking about how our churches can flourish for the future.

With love and thanks to you all, I couldn’t be in a better place, with a better bunch of people! Thank you 🙂

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.