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Written by Rev Elizabeth Moxley
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Jul 24, 2008 at 08:18 PM |
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 Friends
It’s been a while since the interviews at the end of March, but now I am delighted to be able to write to you for the first time as your Rector. It was a great joy to see so many of you at St Michael’s for my induction – the beginning of what I hope will be a long and fruitful relationship. I think relationship is the best way of thinking about the future. A prominent member of the community who’d been a guest at the induction service commented to me a week or so later that my induction was a bit like a wedding. And so it is.
I’m looking forward to deepening my relationship not just with the three congregations but also with our communities too. It’s a three-way thing between you and me and God. Of course, as with my actual marriage to Chris, (another relationship where God is the third party), I hope that my relationship with you all will involve mutual support. I look forward to sharing with you in times of family celebration as well as in the sad times, and I’m sure I’ll be able to count on you when times are tough for me.
As I write this, the Lambeth Conference is just beginning - bishops from all round the world are gathering in London. I very much hope that they will be able to listen to each other and deal lovingly with those whose backgrounds and beliefs are very different from their own. We too will need those gifts of gracious listening and acceptance as we meet change and find we have differences of emphasis, but it is my hope and prayer that with God at the heart of our relationship, we’ll be able to grow through those changes together.
The Revd John Tabor asked me if I would print the prayers I prayed at my induction in this magazine, and on re-reading them, it seems to me that they say all that I long for.
So here they are, with my love
Elizabeth
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Last Updated ( Jul 24, 2008 at 08:52 PM )
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Written by Revd Elizabeth Moxley
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Jul 05, 2008 at 08:17 PM |
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Here is the new pattern of worship which we as a benefice have agreed to adopt from Sunday July 13th. I hope when you look at it you’ll find that most of what you value in worship is still there even if the timings are slightly different. I am pleased that while we have a range of worship available across the benefice, that the Eucharist, the service of Holy Communion which Jesus instituted, remains at the heart of our pattern of worship.
What doesn’t appear on the monthly schedule are the services of Choral Matins and Choral Evensong which will be a regular, though not monthly feature of worship at St Michael’s. More about those services on page 21. The other thing to note is that this pattern will occasionally change because of special occasions – both religious festivals and social gatherings will sometimes alter it.
Our new pattern has been achieved through a series of meetings in which there has been lots of thoughtful listening and honest speaking. Our meetings have modelled the way our fruitful and generous co-operation can grow as we work together and value the distinctive character and gifts of each of our three churches.
With love
Elizabeth Moxley
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Last Updated ( Jul 07, 2008 at 05:22 PM )
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