Changes afoot!
I wonder how you feel about change? Are you someone who simply hates
it when things change, an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” sort of person? Or
are you someone who relishes new beginnings, fresh ideas, a “new broom
sweeps clean” sort of person? Maybe you are someone who says “Well
let’s give it a go and see what happens”. Whichever kind of person you are
there is no doubt that change happens, in our family lives, in our circumstances, in our environment, in our nation.
We are looking ahead to a year of change in our church here at Breadsall.
The South Porch project, which seems to have gone on for ever, will hope-
fully be finished in the first half of the new year. We now have permission
from the diocese, tenders in place and we just are waiting for the last official permissions to come through. The work will take a couple of months and will involve laying down a new floor, putting in a new glass inner door
to the church and a new outer door. The floor will be slightly ramped and
there will be a handrail making access easier for those with poor mobility
and also for those bringing buggies into church. This will become the main
entrance.
The second big change will be, hopefully, a new incumbent. Someone to
lead us forward and help us to grow in our faith and in our relationships
with one another at church and within the local community.
This will not be an easy task for whoever is appointed because, as well as taking on the parish of All Saints’, a new Rector will also be taking on the parishes of Morley and Smalley. This will be the first time that Breadsall has shared an incumbent with other parishes and will inevitably lead to other changes. Even priests can’t be in three places at once! So there will probably be changes in service times, the types of services and maybe their regularity. We will need to be prayerful and supportive of a new Rector and learn to work collaboratively with the other parishes. I’m sure this will bring blessings as well as challenges.
As we move into the new year we have much to look forward to. Our God is a
faithful God and wants the very best for us, as a church family and as individual members of that family. He came that we might have life in all its fullness (John 10 verse 10) and we can choose to live that full life or not. But whatever happens, whatever changes are in store we know that God is steadfast and true and doesn’t change. He will be with us each step of the way.
Jane Williams
