Friends, it is a delight to come and be with you as your new vicar. Thank you to all those who joined me on Monday for my installation (which makes me sound like a computer programme: beware of the ‘updates’ next?).
Moving from University Chaplaincy to parish sounds like a big shift – but in many ways, already, I recognise the similarities. Similar is the lovely community building where people are made welcome from many walks of life.
I remember a guiding image for me when I first become a chaplain was the Parable of the Mustard Seed: “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which someone took and sowed in the ground, and it became a great tree and the birds of the air built their nests in it.”
It’s just a tiny little bit of Jesus’ teaching. For me it means that church (and chaplaincy) is a little like a tree, planted some time ago, which has now grown to become a place where people find refuge in its branches: the weary, those just passing through briefly, those wanting to nest for a while. Already I’ve seen that ministry of refuge at work in St Nicolas. This is what the kingdom of God looks like here and I’m delighted to be part of it.
Mark
Rev’d Mark Laynesmith
Vicar