Letter From The Vicarage - September 2012

A Final Letter from the Vicarage

Dear Friends,

This sadly will be my last letter for The Herald after more than twenty-seven years.  I have greatly enjoyed the magazine which I have always considered to be a valuable way of communicating with the two parishes and an important voice for the two villages with information about various activities and organisations.  It hasn’t been just a “church magazine”.  I have found it rewarding working with Fleur Bradley when she was Editor, with Liz Layton, and latterly with Andrew Bancroft.

There are inevitably going to be some changes both in the life of the church and also in the production of the magazine.  As from October the magazine is going to become Bi-Monthly in order to bring it into line with the team Magazine and so that the same letter can be inserted as that one in that production.  Therefore after the September edition there will be a October/November issue and a December/January one.  This was decided at both our PCC’s recently.  It will also make it easier for Paul and Cynth who nobly print, collate and distribute the magazine to the individual distributors. The magazine will also contain some items from the team and the publication of events organised by other members of the team. 

I hope that ‘The Herald’ will continue to be a valuable organ for the villages as well as giving some important information about the new team.

As far as the services at our two churches are concerned there will be some changes too.  These have been approved by both PCC’s.  The Sunday services at Cookley will change from 9.00am to 9.30am.  as from the first Sunday in September, and the Wolverley Sunday morning service has already changed from 10.30am to 11.00am.

Evensong at Wolverley and the midweek services will remain the same – Evensong at 6.30pm and Wednesdays at Wolverley at 10.00am and Cookley on Thursdays at 10.30am.

It was hoped that we should be able to keep our usual service times at least for the Interregnum whilst the legal process is going on to set up the new team, but there has had to be some flexibility in order to allow the team clergy to cover all the services.  Changes have had to be made by Saint Oswald’s and St. Barnabas in order to accommodate our two parishes.

Although I finished in the parishes at the end of August, I don‘t actually retire officially until the end of September. I shall still legally be “Vicar” until then although I shan’t be doing any work. I am in the happy position of having a month to organise myself and move.

Finally I would like to say that this isn’t really “Goodbye” but only “Au Revoir” for a time.  Sue and I will not be living very far away.  In fact we are going to be living in Saint Mary’s Parish and I expect to do take some services in the new team.  So no doubt you will see me again from time to time.

Thank you so much to all the people who kindly wrote about me in last month’s Herald.  I’m sure that I don’t deserve all adulation, but it is really nice to feel that I have been appreciated and that I’ve been able to make some small contribution to the life of the two parishes. I would also like to thank Andrew Bancroft for putting the magazine together and for having done so since he took over.

Thank you all for your support and companionship.  It has been a great journey and one that continues, albeit in a different direction.

With every blessing,

Geoffrey,

Your Friend and Vicar

From the Parish Registers

Christenings

Summer Lyndon at Wolverley – 5^th August

Ruby and Evie Oliver at Wolverley – 11^th August

Noah Meredith and Rylan Arens at Cookley – 12^th August

Jack Yarnold at Wolverley – 25^th August

Weddings

Craig Gould and Eleanor Oakes at Cookley – 4^th August

James Whitehouse and Carina Russell at Wolverley – 4^th August

Mark Joslin and Lydia Evans at Wolverley – 11^th August

Paul Schofield and Juliet Goldsmith at Wolverley – 17^th August

Jonathan Perkins and Deborah Digger at Cookley – 24^th August

Owen Southan and Sapphire Hardy at Cookley – 25^th August

Russell Hadley and Haley Shurmer at Wolverley – 25^th August

Julian Penn and Joanne Speight at Cookley – 31^st August

Funerals

Beatrice Emily Seedhouse at Stourbridge (Cookley) – 9^th August

Brenda Price at Cookley – 10^th August

Sheikla Nash at Stourbridge (Franche) – 15^th August

Terence Oldnall at Cookley – 17^th August

Irene Chamberlain at Wyre Forest Crematorium (Wolverley) – 21^st August

Patricia Kathleen Tolley at Stourbridge (Cookley) – 28^th August