A new begining

 It is now six weeks since we left Sheffield after 14 years living and working in the inner city. 

But I need to re wind to Palm Sunday and Easter Day before I start on living in Banbury.

On Palm Sunday I shared in my final service at St Peters LEP Ellesmere. It was a wonderful time with a delicious buffet that followed. The warmth of a community that I have increasingly grown to love and care about was very tangible. I will miss people and leading worship in their great worship space. 

The pleasure was added to a couple of weeks later when Jill and I joined Bill at his 100 birthday party and to be invited to say a few words was a genuine privilege. There will always be a special place in my memory of St Peters, a community that welcomed and accepted everyone without placing demands upon them. They really are Christ like.

Rosie , Jean and team went to a lot of trouble to make it a wonderful time.

Then Easter Day saw my final service in Sheffield and it was everything I could have hoped for. The  morning Methodist Congregation and afternoon Family Worship congregation joined together which for me was so important. 

The Family Worship Minstrels sang and brought energy and life in a way that only they could. 

So thankful that over the years worshipping with them that it also provided the life changing opportunities of two stays in Ghana. 

Peter offered some kind words and a very generous gift which is enabling me to get the greenhouse of my dreams.

Janet produced a beautiful card - not sure the greenhouse will look as good as that!

Richard and Dan presented Jill and I with gifts from Ghana 

Being Easter we transformed our Easter Cross to a thing of beauty and we broke bread and shared wine together.

Meanwhile the children had great fun in Sams Space on the soft play equipment .

I'm praying that Sam's Space will go onto provide a place of welcome to all within which new ways of worshipping will begin to happen. It was always meant to be more than a soft play centre. Already it is know as a welcoming place offering acceptance. A sensory room has been added and hopefully an outdoor space as well. It is well managed by Jade and her team of volunteers, supported by an excellent management team, and just needs that additional presence which would have been my role to make the links between serving and worshipping.

Leaving Sheffield, leaving Firth Park while the right thing and time is still a major upheaval. I have grown to love the area , the people and especially the two congregations who came together on Easter Day. All will be deeply missed. But we still had a further surprise.

Our home on Abbeyfield Road has been filled with memories. Probably the best manse we have ever lived in. A Garden we created and nurtured. Yet over the years we have formed a wonderful bond with our neighbours who on the whole are Muslim. They have graciously included us in life events. Been a source of wonderful food and have enriched our understanding of humanity. On our last evening they poured into our house already having given us a farewell cake, our immediate neighbour had taken the trouble to get a picture of our house made.

Yes we were deeply touched and emotionally. 

So our inner city adventure has ended and a new life in Banbury awaits.