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Rector's Letter

Dear Friends,

In my mid-twenties, I lived for two years in a remote village in the foothills of Mount Elgon in East Uganda. Working as a mission partner for a Christian agency, teaching in the local secondary school and preaching in the many churches in the parish was a formative experience.

Shortly after my arrival, I began to notice some different cultural norms, exemplified by what seemed, initially,  an odd feature of most conversations. Regardless of whether you were a direct beneficiary, if you saw anyone serving someone else, it was customary to thank them. “Thank you for collecting water from the spring.” “Thank you for weeding your allotment.” “Thank you for teaching.” Everyday encounters thus sustained a strong sense of community, coloured by a ready appreciation of one another’s contribution.

This gratitude was closely allied to a common spirituality. A deep awareness of God’s goodness seemed to underlie the priority of thanksgiving. The prayers of the school pupils often began with appreciation, such as, “Thank you for my life, for looking after me and my family.”

I found these features of the local culture attractive and moving. Seeing thankfulness woven into everyday life in social interaction and prayer highlighted how I had underplayed its importance in my own Christian living and thinking. As I reflected on my experience, the New Testament teaching on the church being the Body of Christ, stressing the significance of everyone’s role, resonated strongly. The Christian vision that our lives come from God and are to be offered back with love confirms the centrality of gratitude in our relationship with God. As we declare in the Eucharist, “It is right to give thanks and praise.”

Transition points are an opportune time to give public thanks. As a church, I’m sure that we are deeply grateful to Michael Lovegrove and the many others who have borne graciously their extra responsibilities during the interregnum. As a family, we greatly appreciate all that has been done to make us feel so welcome. Jenny and I look forward to getting to know you and working with you.

As we face the future, I trust that we thank God for his continuing faithfulness and for the gift of one another, and for all that God will give us in the coming years.

“For all that has been: thanks. To all that will be: Yes.”

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