Vicar’s Letter – December
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” (Lam 3:22-23).
At the end of a long year, I want to say thank you Lord for your faithfulness. What a year it has been: earthquakes, snowstorms, an adrenalin charged world cup. At every step of the way 2011 has kept surprising us. It's been a long, and a tiring year. But as we reach the end of 2011, I want to thank God for his grace to our parish.
I'm thankful for the way our young adults swung into action so quickly after the earthquake. I'm thankful that our buildings stayed standing. I'm thankful for the opportunity it gave to build stronger links in our communities and meet people we would never have come into contact with otherwise. I'm thankful for the way our schools ministry has borne fruit, particularly through 24-7 in Burnside High School. I'm thankful that over the year 30 new people have joined our parish. I'm thankful that we have seen have seen adults and young people become Christians. I'm thankful that our Sunday school has grown and now has split into two groups. I'm thankful that financially we have a secure base to build for the future. I'm thankful for all your responses to our Mission Action Plan as we look forward to next year. I'm thankful for 5 couples from our churches getting married this summer. And yes, I'm thankful for the AAW's gift of two shiny new teapots.
Thank you, brothers and sisters for being part of the journey in 2011,
Your vicar, Matt.