Dear Friends,

Looking ahead and looking back are both things we are frequently asked to do.

When I started my journey towards discernment, around four years ago, I read one passage from scripture every day: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). It has sustained me and I hope kept my feet pointing in the right direction since then. It’s not always been easy; sometimes I feel like I’ve been walking uphill very slowly, and other times, especially now feel like I’m barrelling down at top speed towards a new destination. There have been times when I have stepped off the path and gotten lost in a maze, but by God’s grace I’ve been found and restored to the pathway. I give thanks to God, that you have been with me on my journey.

In Morning Prayer on Monday, verse 3 from Psalm 1 resonated with me: “Like a tree planted by streams of water bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither, whatever they do it shall prosper”. It is so important that we take time to be ourselves, whatever that looks like; to find a place where we can be nurtured and nourished, to enable our fruit to develop. Its not about staying the same, trees change with the seasons, they develop new rings each year as they grow.

St Martin’s has been a place of nurture and growth, of renewal and refreshment, of joy and tears, a place where I have grown in faith.

The time of my ordination is fast approaching, and this weekend marks my final week worshipping with the wonderful community of St Martins. For me it is a time of looking forward and backwards. I know that I will carry wonderful memories with me and I have been shaped by all the encounters I have had with many people over the 15 years or so I have been part of its family, and although I am leaving I will be carrying you all with me. A plant gently uprooted and transplanted, so that I can continue to grow strong roots elsewhere, keeping them firmly entwined in our shared river of life, to produce fruit in due season.

We are all on a journey, we are all called to be ministers of Christ, whether that’s through making tea and coffee, welcoming people in, or sitting next to some one on their journey, talking with someone at a bus stop, in the shop, or whilst out walking a dog. We don’t know when we are giving or when we will receive, but if we trust in God, through the love of his son Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit we can continue to walk together, and be family, day by day.

My parting challenge to you all is for you each to find a verse or two of scripture that resonates, to read it daily for a week or longer and see where God is prompting you, or notice how it sustains and comforts you, and share it with me when we meet again.

And, if you are around Redcatch Park between 2 and 4pm on Sunday 3rd July 2022, please pop into the Redcatch Community Gardens Canopy space, say hello and eat cake and crisps and join in with my Ordination Celebration, it would be lovely to see you all.

With every blessing and love in Christ

Rosemary