The Reverend Matthew Hunter, currently serving as Priest in Charge, of St John’s, Whorlton in the Diocese of Newcastle, has been appointed as Team Rector of St John and St Luke. Matthew will be licensed to this role by Bishop Anna Eltringham on 10th June 2025. Matthew says: First of all, thank you so much for the opportunity to come and join your communities and be part of your life together. Leaving St John’s, Whorlton will be difficult, and we’ll also miss Newcastle itself, but relocating to Harrogate feels very positive for us as a family. Emily and I are very much looking forward to moving to Bilton, as is Evie (who’s 3)… in her own way! We are absolutely delighted with this news and all look forward to welcoming Matthew to our fantastic community.
The people of St John’s and St Luke’s want to be a people who live their lives in step with Jesus, and we believe He has given us a great way to do this through His words in Matthew 11:29-30, where he invites us to, ‘Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.’ (Message Version)Like others before us, we have called this way a ‘Rhythm of Life’ and we now have about 50 people actively involved in seeking to live by this shared rhythm. How we are trying to do this is outlined in the documents that can be accessed via this tab or on our linked website https://www.stjohnsandstlukes.org.uk/ , under the Rhythm of Life tab that should be live soon. However, in a nutshell, we are seeking to identify some steps or commitments we can each take to grow in our faith, and are then seeking to put these commitments into practice with the help of another person who we have called a ‘fellow traveller’, with whom we meet every couple of months or so.The beauty of the Rhythm of Life is that while it is a shared journey, it is also an individual journey, as no two people’s commitments will be the same.If you would like to find out more, or get involved yourself, please contact the church office via email church@stjohnsandstlukes.org.uk or Simon, the team rector simon.dowson@leeds.anglican.org.uk
