Tower and Town, September 2018 (view the full edition)Clergy LetterSeptember is a lovely month. The colours of summer begin to give way to the rich and vibrant colours of autumn. It is a month of both endings and new beginnings. For schools, colleges and universities the long summer break ends, and a new academic year begins. For so many young people this means a new class, a new school, a new university or college. There will be new challenges which at first seem both daunting and exciting. All around us we see the harvest being gathered and driving our beautiful country roads means many encounters with large, laden tractors. For the farmers this year there have been the challenges of a heatwave and little rain, but still the harvest is gathered, and a season ends. Then the cycle will begin again as fields are prepared and sown for next year's crops. In the church, too, September is a time of endings and beginnings. Particularly this September as we bid farewell to a valued colleague and friend as Revd Andrew Studdart-Kennedy and his wife Annie depart for a new parish and new adventure. Marlborough faces the challenge and opportunity his successor will, in time, bring. For many clergy it is the start of new appointments, for the newly trained embarking on their first appointments or ministers moving into new appointments there is still the excitement and trepidation of a new beginning. All of life is full of endings and beginnings, but each new beginning offers the prospect of adventure, new experiences, growth and hope. As we embark on the adventure of this September may we look forward with anticipation and remember that in God's Kingdom the greatest new beginning is resurrection and this is reflected in all our endings and beginnings. Heather Cooper |