Welcoming in 2008!

As I write on New Year’s Eve we have just celebrated a wonderful Christmas together, we re-told the Christmas story and celebrated God’s gift of the child Jesus to all people – what fun it was.

As we leave 2007 we enter into a new era as a church family, an era with a new identity, an era of new opportunities and an era of new challenges.

From tomorrow we are part of a new parish – St. Matthew’s and St. Oswald’s – our family has been extended with the coming together of the congregations at St. Matthew’s, Overslade and St. Oswald’s – in the coming weeks and months we will be getting to know brothers and sisters we knew existed but whom we’d never met. I hope you will enjoy this experience of a growing family.

St. Oswald’s, like St. Matthew’s, draws its congregation from across the town of Rugby and so we have a continued commitment to the whole community of our town. But the uniting of the geographical parish recognises the reality of a vibrant living community in New Bilton. It is this geographical community that we also have a responsibility to serve.

It has been great to see over the last two years how, working together, the people of St. Matthew’s and St. Oswald’s have made a significant impact on the lives of the people of New Bilton. Working together we can make a difference as we seize this opportunity to demonstrate the real practical love of Jesus and to proclaim the unchanging gospel truth of salvation through him alone.

This New Year also presents its challenges!

At the same time as we take on additional responsibilities our staffing has been reduced. We have the bishop’s permission to appoint an Associate Minister (at our expense!) and we are in the process of advertising – please pray that we find the right person for this post.

We have just received the latest drawings from our architect for the proposed new church – we have to decide this year whether this is God’s will for us and how we should progress it.

Leadership is vital to the life of the local church and the new PCC will soon have to consider the formation of a new Leadership Team to replace the previous ones in our separate parishes.

I hope you will be able to join in our celebrations this coming Sunday as we mark this new era and commit ourselves afresh to one another as we seek to become all that God intends for the local church – the body of Christ. The weather forecast doesn’t look too bad at the moment but don’t forget to wrap up warm and bring a brolly! We meet in our churches at 10.30am, converging on St. Oswald’s around 11am on foot or in coaches for an outdoor celebration and act of commitment, followed by a pig roast and a brief formal meeting inside St. Oswald’s.

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.” Roman 15:5 (NIV)

Jackie joins me in wishing you a very special and blessed 2008!

Martin