The Bishop’s Letter for February
Farewells and goodbyes
As many of you will know, I will be leaving the Diocese in the late Spring and moving to accommodation that is being provided for me in Salisbury .
Farewells and good byes are always demanding,
difficult and sometimes quite painful. This is because (of course) relationships have been established which are precious and immensely valued. And that has been the case in great measure for me over the past 8 or more years since I came to Sheffield in November 2001.
I have been so grateful for the warmth of affection that you have shown me – a reflection in a wondrous way of the love of God in Christ. The privilege – immense – of being with so many of you at your Confirmations and Ordinations – praying for the gift of God Himself to be given to you, and then even more, seeing that manifest itself in you and to others.
To share in Ministry Reviews and to be encouraged by your conviction of your calling to serve God and of your desire to see His Kingdom grow both in quality of life, revealing the fruits and gifts of the Spirit, and in quantity too. (Never despise numbers – for those who do not worry about numbers soon have no numbers to worry about!) And to see exciting developments at Parish and Deanery level in these exciting but demanding days of Pastoral Reorganisation, reflecting the leading and guiding of God the Holy Spirit in and through His Church.
And to be privileged to work particularly closely with colleagues on the Bishop’s Staff. That has been an exciting, stimulating and humbling experience and the Diocese of Sheffield is privileged to have such a spiritual and gifted group. It all started because of a longstanding friendship with Bishop Jack going back over 30 years when we worked together on a number of projects in the Diocese of Manchester.
Then, when we left there – me to be an Archdeacon in Wakefield Diocese, and him soon after the be Bishop of Lancaster, to keep up that association by going on retreat together now for 20 years or more, and then to be welcomed by him to share in the Episcopal role here has given me such joy and fulfilment. And now, with Bishop Steven (we knew each other when we worked together in Halifax), and to see such an exciting start to his Episcopal ministry with such prayerfully thought-through strategy – makes me wish I was some years younger to be able to stay and be a further part of it all. You are in for exciting, if at times daunting, times.
But always there comes the time to move on – and this seems to be now for me. You will always be in my prayers and I will follow with great interest how God leads you. Together, let us always “seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all else will be added to you”.
(Good Lenten Text!!)
God’s richest blessing be yours – I can pray you nothing better.
+David Hallatt
Bishop David Hallatt, who has lived in High Green for the last eight years, and when he could, worshipped at St Saviour’s, is moving on. David lived among us while serving as Assistant Bishop in our Diocese. He moves on into full retirement in April this year.
Before he goes he has kindly agreed to preach at St Saviour’s at the 10.30 a.m. Service on Mothering Sunday 14th March and at the beginning of his last full week at the 8.15 a.m. Holy Communion on the 18th April.
There will be a farewell service for him at the Cathedral on the evening of 25th April at 6 pm.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has given a message of support to the people of Haiti affected by the devastation caused by Tuesday’s earthquake:
“I am profoundly shocked and concerned to hear about the devastating earthquake in Haiti. As the news comes through, we are learning more about the tragic loss of life, injury suffered and terrible damage to the country. We stand alongside all the people in Haiti affected by this terrible disaster in prayer, thought and action as the situation unfolds. We pray for the rescue of those still trapped and look towards the rebuilding of lives and communities.
I commend the swift action of the Department for International Development and the relief agencies in mobilising an emergency response. In this time of catastrophic loss and destruction, I urge the public to hold the people of Haiti in their prayers, and to give generously and urgently to funding appeals set up for relief work.”
Unfortunately, due to her age, my mother-in-law has become a little senile and spends all her time looking through the window. But please don’t worry about her, if it gets too cold I will let her in.
A Time in hospital
This short message was submitted on the day I was taken into hospital ready for my heart operation.
My thanks go to all our church family for the prayers and kind offers of help which have been showered on Heather and me. May God bless you all.
By the time you read this message I should be back on a general ward, but I am sure that Heather will keep you all informed of my progress
It seems that all the different groups working in the church have had a very quiet time. Nothing to report from January and it seems that they have nothing going off in February. Except for the Mother’s Union, they had a visit to Peru on the 12th with Maureen Brewis as their guide, I expect they had a good time. On the 9th of Feb they are having a Quiet Time with Mrs Margaret Vivian starting at 2pm, and then on the 23rd of Feb they are having a Lent Study, again starting at 2pm
Do you realise that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about ageing that you think in fractions.
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life .... . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
News from the Far East
Uncertainty has now hit the Japan in the past seven days. Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank has announced plans to cut some branches. Yesterday it was also announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and likely to go for a song, while shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended today after they nose-dived. While Samurai Bank is soldiering on after sharp cutbacks, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, where it is feared the staff may get a raw deal.
