Superintendent's Letter

Dear friends,

I wish you a blessed Easter!

 Easter Day will mark my last day in this circuit before my three-month sabbatical. I am grateful to the Methodist Church for the gift of sabbaticals in which ministers are released from their usual responsibilities. Sabbaticals are valuable opportunities for rest, recreation and time with family and friends. However, we are also expected to pursue a programme of study, research, work or experience. I plan to engage in a study of bridges in London, hence the photo of Tower Bridge above.

We will all have crossed many bridges during our lives, but we may not have paid too much attention to them. Particularly during the past ten years, I have been struck by the sense of being a bridge, which is a significant aspect of what I offer as a minister. This realisation has led me to ponder the nature of bridges. Thankfully, London offers many examples of bridges to study: from the latest incarnation of London Bridge, a crossing point of the Thames for over 2,000 years, to the pedestrian Millennium Bridge.

I intend to explore several aspects of bridges, such as:

• Therelationship between purpose and design
• Thecost of building bridges, human and economic
• Theimpact which bridges make
• Bridgesas means of inclusion and exclusion
• Changingcontext and needs
• Maintenance
• Bridgesno longer fit for purpose

I will relate these aspects to actual bridges in London and my experience in ministry. The purpose is to develop a theology of bridges.

I hope to offer an evening in July when we can gather by the Thames, look at a few bridges together and reflect on what has emerged during my sabbatical. More details will be shared later.

I will be praying for you during my sabbatical, and your prayers for me will also be welcome.

God bless,