Dear Friends,
Even though many of us don’t operate on the school calendar, September still feels like a new start; not least because we need to say a string of ‘hellos’ to various people at this time of year.
Hello to Tim and Abby Partridge who, along with little Mia, moved to
Plymouth over the summer. Tim joins us as our new curate. Their family is due to expand imminently – they are expecting a baby around October time and although they moved in July, their current accommodation is only temporary and they will be moving into the curate’s house this month. So a fairly disruptive start for the Partridges – please pray for them! Tim will be ordained at Exeter Cathedral on Saturday 15th September at 3:00pm – if you would like to attend the service, please let the office know.
Hello to Isaac Money and JB (Joanna Baker) – they join the team as our Ministry Assistants. They are both already well known to us. Isaac has been a member of the congregation through his teenage years, while his dad, John, was our Team Vicar at St. Paul’s – Isaac has just completed his degree at Exeter Uni. JB has been studying at the university in Plymouth and it’s been lovely to have her as a member of St. Andrew’s during that time. They will be involved in a range of children, youth, student and administrative tasks, among other things. They will also attend the ‘Peninsula Gospel Partnership Bible Training Course’ one day a week, which runs in Exeter.
Hello to Robin and Pippa Brown who join us from St. Andrew’s, Buckland Monachorum. Robin has just retired from working as a solicitor and now begins training for ordination at the new St. Mellitus training college at St. Matthias Church on North Hill. St. Mellitus is an Anglican training college based in London which now has a number of ‘regional hubs’, making it possible for people to train locally. The approach is to mix teaching and lectures (each Tuesday, plus occasional residentials) with experience in the local church. So while Robin is an ‘ordinand’ rather than a ‘curate’, you will get to know him as he serves at St. Andrew’s in various ways as part of his training. His wife Pippa is a lay reader in Buckland and they have two adult daughters, Victoria and Sophie.
Hello to Alex Hurdle. Actually we already know Alex very well since he has been a member of St. Andrew’s since he was knee-high and he has been serving for the last two years as a Ministry Assistant and on the office team. Due to a generous gift from a donor outside the congregation, we are able to employ Alex as a student worker, starting this September. So Alex’s focus will shift to teaching and discipling students at St. Andrew’s – please don’t direct office enquiries to him any more!
And no doubt we will say ‘hello’ to others at this time of year who have moved into the area and are looking for a church to join. I trust that we will make every effort to help all these people to feel the warmth of a St. Andrew’s welcome.
“Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
Romans 15:7
With love in Christ,
Joe Dent
