Dear friends,
‘For everything its season, and for every activity under heaven its time: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and at time to uproot; …. A time to weep and a time to laugh …. a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing’ Ecclesiastes 3: 1–5 (Edited)
The wise sage who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, tells us, in the verses cited above, that there is a time for everything in God’s kingdom. A time for us to start new endeavours in life, and a time to recognize that those endeavours have come to an end. There is a natural flow to the progress of life as we reach certain milestones and prepare for the next challenge that lies ahead.
For me, as your Superintendent Minister, I am getting close to one such milestone. It may only seem like yesterday to many of you and to me also, but seven years ago, in September 2018, I began this phase of my ministry with you as your circuit Superintendent. Now, seven years later, I am coming towards the end of that ministry and am preparing to move on to our neighbouring circuit of Croydon, where I will begin my Ministry in September as their new Superintendent Minister.
I look back on seven years of a largely joyful and fulfilling ministry in your midst in which I feel that I have been embraced by so many. Seven years in which I have made many friends, shared with you in countless acts of worship, fellowship, circuit and Local Preachers’ meetings. Seven years of being alongside so many of you during significant moments in your lives including weddings, funerals, and baptism, particularly in the two churches of Lewisham and Eltham Park where I have had Pastoral charge.
There have been times when we have looked at difficult issues such as the ‘God in Love Unites us’ agenda, and latterly the circuit re-organisation. We also lost the best part of two years of face-to-face ministry as we navigated the Covid Epidemic together and learned how to meet and even share worship through platforms such as Zoom and YouTube!
Soon will come that time for us to refrain from embracing. It will be with great sadness that Carol and I say our last goodbyes at our leaving service in late July. However, we will do so knowing that we won’t be far away in Croydon and we hope to keep up many of the meaningful friendships that we have made.
This will be the third consecutive appointment in which I will have served seven years. Seven is a Biblical number, remember God made the world in seven days according to Genesis. Seven is understood as a number that signifies completeness and there is a sense in which I feel ready to complete my ministry with you and move on to new pastures.
As I go, I want to promise that I will keep you all in my prayers, happy in the knowledge that our circuit remains in good hands and that God’s purposes will continue to be fulfilled.
Kind regards,
Richard
Reverend Richard Grocott
(Superintendent Minister)