Dear friendsThis is my last weekly message before my extended leave begins - I feel as though January has passed at such a fast rate, but that might also be because I had no idea it would be so much work to take 3 months as "sabbatical" and my feet haven't really touched the ground. I had hoped to be in touch with more people to catch up on news after Christmas, and I'm sorry I haven't had the capacity to do that.So, this begins with my love in Christ and very best wishes!The main theme for my study while on leave is "who I am when I'm with you". I'm particularly interested in interactions between people with different personality types, which I hope will inform my understanding of conflict and peace-making, which many of you will know is an area I've supported for a number of years. I've also always loved to work with people generally, and I'm fascinated by the idea that we can be easily drawn to conversations and relationships with some people, while we might find it more difficult to even communicate with others. So, these are the things I'm going to study and hopefully learn more about. I'm also going to learn "who I am when I'm with God" in retreat and quiet times, and when I'm not looking at emails!!As I shared in my sermon last week, we know that God knows who we are, loving us deeply and completely, and will meet us in those ways that are unique to us - whether this is in nature, activity, silence, conversation, art ... but also that we are loved, in the words of the theological author Philip Yancey, too much to leave us where we are. To know that we are works in progress, created beings, still being created, by a creator God, allows us to be open to all that we might still learn, even if we've been around the block a bit!This seems to be a constant feature of Jesus' ministry - there is a story behind every story, where people are learning new things about themselves, or new things are being revealed. I'm going to expand this thinking in my message this week where I'll talk about God being a "person creator rather than a problem solver". I would love to see you if you're able to come along to church at either 8.30am or 10.30am, where we'll be sharing Holy Communion at both services.I'm so delighted that we're also holding the Christingle service at 4.30pm, outdoors around a fire with hot chocolate and biscuits!In the meantime, I appreciate your prayers for the next few weeks, as I also learn "who I am when I'm not with you"!In Christ, as everBecky