September 2010
Dear Friends,
September is often a month of fresh starts. Some children are starting school for the very first time. Others are changing classes, moving up to "big" school or going to college or university or starting a career. And we wish them all well.
Some of our school staff are staring new jobs or looking forward to retirement.
Like any new year, it's a time very much of looking backward to what has been achieved and looking forward to the possibilities of the future.
It's also a time of change for the clergy. For the first time, Clergy are to be given certain rights under employment legislation - but like all rights they come with responsibilities. And these mean that there are new procedures for dealing with discipline and competency and a requirement for regular a appraisal and review of clergy.
So, in August, I was one of the first to undergo a review under the new system. I had to complete a report for my reviewer and I asked a few people to write their thoughts on my ministry. And then I spent a pleasant couple of hours discussing my work with my reviewer, who happened to be the Vicar of St. Botolph's Church at Boston -the "Stump". (Incidentally, if we think our maintenance costs are high, they have to raise £80,000 a year to pay for the maintenance of that wonderful building!!!).
One of the reports that one of you kindly produced suggested that a target for the future would be for me to keep my desk tidy! And so that is what I am trying to achieve - although it's not easy as the paper coming into the office doesn't seem to diminish.
But it was a good exercise to look back over the past 15 years in the Caistor area and reflect on what had gone well and what has been a disappointment. And alongside doing that, look at how we, the church, can be a better servant to our communities in the future. And perhaps that is something that we might all do. I can't promise that you will see dramatic changes - but the desk might be a bit tidier!
All good wishes.
Ian R