Vicar Letter – June 2020
Joy in the morning!
You have probably heard by now that Helen and I are on the move. After nearly 7 years as Vicar of All Saints’ and St Margaret’s we have made the difficult decision that it is time to move nearer to our grown-up children. I will therefore be moving at the end of July over to Nottinghamshire where Helen has recently been appointed as the next Vicar of St Mary’s and St John’s Hucknall.
It is, of course with sadness AND with gratitude that we will be moving. It has been an immense pleasure and privilege to be your Vicar for these years. I have greatly enjoyed your fellowship and partnership in the life of our communities, and I am confident that God’s blessings will continue to be poured out upon Betley and Madeley – however tough these current times are.
In preparation for moving, Helen and I have hired a skip! We have been sorting through all our “stuff” and it is amazing how much you accumulate over the years. Before we put all our unwanted items into the skip, we decided to have an impromptu stall outside our house inviting people to: Help yourself. What we had not expected was the delight that this gave to various people to reuse, repair and recycle.
Girls from along the road were delighted to take some board games; 12 paving stones that we’d taken up a couple of years ago were snapped up; and a very weathered Iron bench was taken away with great joy at the prospect of a restoration project!
Out of the tiredness and unwanted debris of life, can come new possibilities. One lady was so thrilled at taking away a “telephone table” that she insisted that I take £10 for Christian Aid – even though I didn’t ask for it!
Life is tough at the moment with the Corona Virus and of course, very tough for some. But even in the toughest of times there are moments of light and colour and joy and solidarity – as revealed by our impromptu stall.
We can (and do) feel overwhelmed by the uncertainty of our current circumstances. But I believe that God is right in the middle of hard times. He is no stranger to heartache, uncertainty and pain. The Christian story remains one of hope and joy in the morning and our faith in Jesus, calls us to look out for Him, even and especially in the midst of our human struggles.
May God bless you and your family.
Peter Chantry
The Church Magazine for June can be read online here
