I hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter (not that Easter, is over, of course – there are several more weeks yet!). I write now because I want to bring you up to speed with some deanery news…
There is to be a new minister in Thundridge and High Cross!
Revd Tim Hall is to be licenced as Priest in Charge (House for Duty) on Saturday 11th May at 5pm in a service at the parish church of St John the Evangelist, High Cross. Invitations will be sent shortly. (Sadly, we can’t extend an invitation to everyone, because space is limited and we must make sure that locals are able to attend.) Please pray for Tim and his wife as they settle into their new home and find their feet in the parishes.
Prior to coming here, Tim has built up a wide-ranging experience of parish ministry in mostly village settings and has most recently been working with the organisation Through Faith Missions which “works alongside churches and other Christian organisations to train and equip them in outreach and mission.” He has a passion for introducing people to Jesus and a real heart for small communities. We look forward to welcoming him to the deanery team.
I want to thank the volunteers within the churches who have kept the show on the road so admirably over the fifteen months since Revd Amanda retired – particularly to the wardens, PCC members and the Lay Leaders of Worship who have been quite busy. My thanks also go to those clergy who have stepped in to cover so many services, including funerals and weddings.
In other news, I have made some updates to some of the webpages relating to the deanery’s Mission Action Plan. You may like to check the MAP Update page for some brief highlights. There is clearly work for us to do if we wish to function efficiently in the mission of God in this part of Hertfordshire.
I invite your prayers for the ongoing vacancy at All Saints in Hertford and for the recruitment of a new minister there in time. The post has now been advertised on the diocesan website (and on ours).
I hope your preparations for your Annual Meetings are going well, and that you are all able to find sufficient volunteers to fill the necessary posts on your PCCs. I know this is not always easy, meaning that additional burdens fall on “the few” who are willing. I can’t promise that the deanery can help with this, but keeping in touch about challenges will, at the very least, enable us to provide counsel – as a team working together in a common mission we will want to assist where we can, but if we don’t know, we can’t help! And please do check with your PCC secretaries that your parish is sending the right number of representatives to deanery synod – and elect more this year if you are falling short.
May the remaining weeks of Easter bring you blessing, and may God use you to bring his blessing to others,
Mark Dunstan
Rural Dean