It's good to have a great team...

This week I've been enjoying a great staff team, time with people keen to know Jesus better and sadly, some time with those wrestling with loss, change, despair or hurdles that seem too high....but that too is life! This week I'm pleased to welcome Rob who will preach and preside in our worship time. Also, Richard and Ada and their children Anouk and Illinca. Richard is here to experience a church community, so I have given him a set of 'auditing' tasks. If Richard engages you in," what are you doing?" and "why?" conversations, that's what he is up to. He's not critiquing us, he's seeking to understand. This week, at 11:30 we have the annual meeting. Please read the reports. We have kept them as short as possible. The AMEP,as it's called, has a set format so it won't take a long time. I'm privileged and thrilled to have had such a committed and team oriented PC this year. I publicly thank them here. Several PC members have indicated their intention not to stand for reelection this year. This is healthy and good. What is even better is the quantity and quality of nominations we have for vacated positions. A final, and for me, very important mention. Brenda Hogg has been on PC and a warden for a decade. She has been my rector's warden for five years. In that time we have laughed, cried, fought, made up, learned of God, prayed together and seen a whole lot happen in the life of St Philips. Brenda has been unstinting in her advocacy for a faith filled God first church. She has contributed her forensic mind to all manner of complex structural and administrative tasks that have made St Philips a pioneer in the way we get things done. She has been a constant reality check and guide to the PC in keeping our often mundane challenges kingdom focused. She has hosted me for a business lunch most Tuesdays at her office for the past two years, a highlight of my week. Above all that, she is doing less paid legal work and using her time to study for a Graduate Diploma in Theology at Trinity. She seems much more interested in the Law of the Lord these days than the law that makes rich people richer. So Brenda, God speed and bless you on this next phase of your Christian adventure. Blessings Malcolm