Dear Friends
Change is in the Air
As you will likely have heard by now, either through the
Churchwardens’ communication or the grapevine, Dawn and I are moving to Cape
Town where I will take up the position of Rector of St Andrew’s in Newlands
from 1 November 2013. We are both excited about the opportunities that lie
before us as we step into a new phase of life and relationship. Our new home,
on the Church property, looks onto the mountain and is bounded by a stream
flowing from the Newlands Ravine into the Liesbeek River. We are looking
forward to regular walks on the beach and through the forests, a new community
and fresh challenges.
It is always difficult to leave, no matter how exciting the
future may be. Pretoria has been home for both Dawn and I in different ways
over a substantial part of our lives; our time at Corpus Christi has seen our children
grow up, and while Nathan has flown the nest a few times over the last eight
and a half years and most recently landed in Durban, Cassie will be pushed out
and required to fly for the first time as she wishes to remain in Pretoria. It
is with a mix of emotions that we move on.
I often wonder about the legacy I will leave. As a Christian
Community we have grown together and transformed together over these last eight-plus
years. I am very aware that Dawn and I step out of a community very different to
the community we entered in 2005. There have been physical changes to the
property from a major upgrading of the car-park to the extension of the Church,
and more recently the reupholstering of the pews and some major repair and
maintenance activity which has seen the Church and Hall repainted. More
importantly, the transformation of our community has been marked as we’ve
sought to adapt to the changing demographics of eastern Pretoria. I have
enjoyed watching our Parish community become increasingly cosmopolitan, and the
leadership structures adapt accordingly. I hope that my time in your midst has
laid strong enough foundations that this cosmopolitan nature of what we have
become will strengthen in the future, and that people – no matter their culture
or class – will continue to find a Christian home at Corpus Christi.
I really do encourage you all to trust God and each other
fully as you move into a time of interregnum during which you will prayerfully
seek God for a new Rector to lead Corpus Christi into its next phase of growth
and development. The Churchwardens will be meeting with the Bishop in the near
future to begin this process, one which is about finding the right person who
will not only be good for Corpus Christi, but will also fit the ethos of the
Diocese. Don’t despair when the process seems to be taking time, but know and
trust that God will provide.
Remind yourselves constantly of our mission to be
role-models and risk-takers for Christ where we live, work and worship; and of
our vision to be passionate disciples for Christ as we seek to live our Faith
in daily life!
Blessings
Mark
