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A Farewell Fae the Manse |
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It is now over six and a half years since I was ordained and inducted as minister here at Newton Mearns Parish Church and not only has the time passed very quickly, for me it has been an honour and a privilege accompanying you on your spiritual journey as an individual, as a congregation and serving the wider community. At times it has been very challenging with the impact of the Covid pandemic and its aftermath which we are still having to negotiate in some areas, and more recently navigating our way through the Presbytery Mission Action Plan. It has also been a very rewarding time as we have journeyed together and I have been humbled by the support, trust and encouragement you have given me through my ministry here. I have learnt so much from being here, and my experiences here have helped shape my ministry and helped me develop who I am as a minister. But after much prayer and reflection I have felt for some time that it was the right time for me to look for a new challenge in my ministry and I will outline my reasons for coming to this conclusion below. When I accepted the call to be minister here it was on a reviewable tenure which meant that my long-term position has never been 100% safe or guaranteed, although I did accept the call knowing this. More recently however, with the introduction and implementation of the national Mission Action Plan with its aim to reduce the number of ministerial posts within each presbytery, this has made my future here even less certain. I have also been giving a great deal of thought on our journey together as congregation and minister and I have sensed for some time now that I have perhaps gone as far as I can on our journey together. So, with these and several other factors in my mind, I contacted the vacant charge of King’s Park Parish Church towards the end of last year. I then met with their Interim Moderator and the head of the nominating committee on an informal basis and after these meetings I felt called to register my interest officially. I then met with their nominating committee, just as I did here, and following that meeting, they came to listen to me preach at the beginning of March. After these visits, they contacted me inviting me to preach as their sole nominee and I accepted their invitation and so I preached as their sole nominee on the 12th of May. Following the service the congregation held a vote and the result was that they unanimously voted me in to be their next minister. This has not been an easy decision, in fact it has probably been one of the most difficult decisions I have made in my life, nor has it been a quick decision. It has taken me months to get to where I am, but I cannot ignore that I fully believe that God is calling me to serve another community. I also feel it is the right decision not only for myself and my family, but also for you the congregation here at Newton Mearns. So, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the past six and a half years, for all your support and encouragement and I pray that going forward the church here will continue to grow and flourish in the future. Your friend in Christ |
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