Thankyou and Farewell

Rachel and I arrived in the Eden Valley in late October 2019. We barely had any time free of a concern about the impact of Covid on our communities and churches, immediately after the Appleby floods. My job, almost inevitably, became an interim role between my predecessor Rev Sarah Lunn, and the new incumbent who will follow. We are literally going home – called to Coventry – where we have our own house, and raised our family from the 1980s. Rachel and I start work in our new jobs in the same week in August 2022. I will be available to all churches across the Coventry Diocese in a support and consultancy role; Rachel is supporting refugees again. Living in the Eden Valley, and our home in the beautiful village of Long Marton, has been memorable in so many ways.

We are so grateful for the friendships we have formed, and the opportunity to serve the churches and wider communities – through baptisms, weddings and funerals, with the schools, with the A66 consultation process, and as chaplain to the GRT communities in the context of Appleby Horse Fair. The quality of community facilities like the village halls and Appleby Hub is invaluable. I have a real affection for the village churches, and only wish I had been able to engage better with the life of the villages, including those like Brampton, Crackenthorpe, Colby and Sandford which don’t have their own church building. I have enjoyed collaborating with the Mayoral team in Appleby, those involved with Remembrance parades and the TIC all of whom help the community flourish so well.

We do hope to pass through, and even stay a while, in the future. With our very best wishes.

Rev Clive Hicks, Rector

Heart of Eden Benefice (the thirteen churches in and around Appleby)

12.07.22