Subject to all legal formalities being fulfilled our Curate, The Reverend Simon Gowler will be joining the combined Parish of Holy Trinity Rainow with Saltersford and Forest as the Incumbent. A date for a formal induction has yet to be agreed but we anticipate it will be at some point after Easter. At St Cross, we will of course be sorry to see Simon, Liz and Grace leave us, but the nature of curacies is transient. Curates come to us to gain experience with a parish, they bless us with their own gifts and they are prepare to take their own ministry elsewhere when God calls them. Simon, having been with us for two and a half years is ready for that challenge now and I'm sure in St Cross we will all wish him and his family every blessing in the future.
A prayer for the family
Heavenly father, we have uphold before you Simon, Liz and Grace at this time and give thanks for them as a loving family and pray for your blessing upon them at this time. May Simon truly enjoy his last few months of his curacy at St Cross despite these tough restrictions around us at the moment, as he prepares to take the next step on his journey for you.
We pray for less his ever supportive wife, Liz, that you will enable her to do all she needs to do in making the next step possible, and for Grace for whom this next step may seem the biggest of all to her, as she will inevitably have to change schools. That she would make new friends in Rainow and with her parents settle in this new community.
We pray too for the people of their new parish, that you would enable their lay members to cope with the running of the combined parish in the near future, and in making all the necessary preparations.
We ask these prayers in Jesus name, Amen.
The picture below in the interior of the recently 're-ordered' Holy Trinity Church
