by Revd Hildred Crowther, Assistant Priest
I wrote my first letter for Good News in September 2008 shortly after I had been ordained Deacon. As we have such a large band of willing contributors, my turn comes up probably less than once a year, so it’s likely that this will be my last letter to you.
Endings are never easy and when I do finally leave the Oakham Team it will be a huge wrench. It’s been such a privilege to serve in this group of parishes and I can honestly say that I’ve been immensely happy here. To a large degree that’s down to all of you and I’m hugely grateful to you for the warmth of the welcome you gave me when I arrived as curate, for your enduring patience and for your continued love & support over the years. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Lee for accepting me onto the Team and being such an excellent role model & support. I’ve also been so fortunate to have been able to work with the other members of our ministry team. We’ve had our ups & downs but to witness the way in which Lee has handled the difficulties we’ve faced has been exemplary and something I’ll never forget.
Many of you already know that the reason for our move is so that we can be nearer to our family in Sheffield and see more of our grandson who is growing up fast and gives us so much joy. I can hardly believe that by the time you read this he’ll have had his first birthday. I’m also greatly looking forward to finding out what God has in store for me when we arrive in our new community. One thing I learnt very quickly when I began my ministry here was that God never asks us to do anything without providing us with the resources to do it so I go to Sheffield confident that he would never let me – or you – down.
Although leaving all of you will be very emotional, it feels completely right and Mike and I know that the time has come for us to move on. There’s much for us to look forward to as we begin this new phase of our lives but I’ll always treasure the memory of the time that I’ve spent here. We don’t yet know when this move will actually happen – I could well still be here after Easter – but I do want to say a huge thank you to all of you for making my time here so rewarding and fulfilling.
Yours with love and gratitude,
Revd Hildred Crowther
Assistant Priest