Goodbye from our Curate
The past two past years at St. Thomas a Becket has truly flown by. I came to the parish in December of 2021, right before Christmas, and right before another lockdown. What a time to join a church! To say that this place has been a gift is an understatement. Before STABC, I was burnt out, and hurting from a devastating event that took place at my last parish. As I was preparing for my curacy and waiting to hear where the bishops would put me, my friend wisely said that I could pray for a place of rest. A place of rest?
Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
Would God give me a church where I could rest and heal? For some reason, I didn’t even think that would be possible. Would God give me this? I began to pray in faith that God cares about my wounds and He did more than I could have asked or imagined through St. Thomas a Becket. I can honestly say that the past two years serving alongside my brothers and sisters at this church have been restful and healing for my soul. God has provided me a community that I can learn in and bask in His goodness and grace. To that, I want to say, THANK YOU! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing your sister in Christ to find healing in this community.
I have enjoyed all of our social times together from caribbean night, bible studies, book studies, kids night, playing cricket, karaoke, and dropping in for tea and chit chat at Hug ministry. In all of these ministries, I have been able to learn from you. I think that’s one of the beauties of the Church. We are not meant to keep our talents, gifts, and growth to ourselves. We are meant to share them with one another so that they too can be inspired to learn and grow in Christ. Continue to share God’s goodness in your lives with one another 🙂
The amount of love that is in this church is very evident from the amount of time people serve and from the amount of laughter that has occurred over our time together; whether through zoom and finally in person! That is one of the first things I noticed about STABC, the amount of laughter that takes place in this place. The laughter of its parishioners translated to joy in my soul. Thank you for showing me what it means to be joyful servants who have an awesome sense of humour.