Thursday, 8 October 2020
Dear Friends in Christ,
This has been a momentous week in the life of our Benefice! On Tuesday evening, Revd Aron was ordained as a priest in the Church of England by the Bishop of Grantham. In more normal times, when we were not living under the constraints placed upon us by the Covid 19 pandemic, we would all have been able to gather together for this most special service, and then we would all have been able to celebrate with a party. On Tuesday we were not able to do any of that. In what could well have been the first ordination service ever held in St John’s Church, just thirty people were allowed to gather as the Bishop outlined the responsibilities of priesthood, accepted Revd Aron’s promises to fulfil the demands of God’s call in his life, presented Revd Aron to the people, laid on hands, invoked the Holy Spirit and anointed Revd Aron, thus giving him the authority to absolve, to bless and to consecrate in the name of Christ’s Church. We then gathered around the Lord’s Table to join in the great feast that he gave us at The Last Supper. The evening was simple and grand; the evening was spiritual and joyous; the evening brought us all together as a new priest was ordained to serve, for a while, in our community.
As I said earlier, this wonderful occasion could only be witnessed by very few, but it affects the lives of us all. As Revd Aron continues to journey through his period of curacy, he will be growing into the priest who will one day leave us to take responsibility for his own Benefice. In the meantime, we can share in the joy of journeying with him as God leads him down the path of priestly ministry. That journey begins this Sunday. At 10.30am on Sunday morning, at St John’s Church, Corby Glen, Revd Aron will celebrate Holy Communion for the first time. This is a great moment for every newly ordained priest, and it is a great moment we can all share together. Despite the restrictions placed upon the ordination service, Sunday morning Public Worship is much freer. The only constraints we have to abide by are those that relate to appropriate social distancing. We know from Tuesday evening’s service that we can certainly fit more than thirty people in St John’s Church, and so the invitation is offered to everyone. Come and join the party.
With more people likely to attend the service on Sunday, I must ask you to ‘book’ your place with me before the event. I ask this for two reasons: firstly, it will save people having to queue while appropriate seating is found – all of that work can be done ahead of time; and, secondly, because I have most people’s contact details you will not have to complete the Track & Trace forms. So, please get in touch and book your place. Could you also let me know when you book whether you are in a household/social bubble with others who are likely to be attending, that will also ease the social distancing issue.
As you will hear in Sunday’s gospel reading (Matthew 22:1-14) we are all invited to share in God’s good grace, whether we feel worthy of the invitation or not. Sunday provides us with an invitation to join our dear brother in Christ as he steps out on the long road of sharing Christ’s love and light with all. Let us come together and thank God for this opportunity to celebrate.
With every blessing to you all,
Revd Stephen