Dear Parishioners

My first “Vicar’s Letter” seems like a good opportunity to say a few obvious things...

FIRST to say how pleased Margaret and I are to be in Exhall at last. We moved in to the new Vicarage on 1 July, and having been away for most of July (we had a wonderful holiday in Canada) the new house is beginning to feel a bit more like home. This week we finally completed the last major project, which was to strip and reseal the wooden floor in the living room. We feel privileged but also slightly embarrassed to live in a house with so much space, but we shall always try to use our home to make people welcome, friends and strangers.

SECOND to say “thank you” to all who have made us feel welcome. There have been some lovely welcome cards through the letterbox, many conversations with people walking past along St Giles Road, and several really thoughtful practical bits of help as well. But we are also struck by the real sense of people wanting to be helpful - for example in local shops.

THIRD I suspect some readers will want to know a little bit more about us, and where we’ve come from, so here goes ...

Stella’s piece in last month’s magazine told you that our previous parish was in Harefield, often known as the last village in Middlesex. [By the way the Newdigates are still patrons - Viscount Daventry is involved in the process to appoint the next vicar.] We were there 15 years, during which with God’s help we saw considerable change and growth. Some will say that the most significant development was completing what came to be known as “The Space Project”, a modest re-ordering of the church’s interior which has created additional spaces and facilities, and has transformed the life and worship of the church. This took a long time due to the building’s listing and significance, and the hoops we had to jump through to get everyone’s agreement for the project.

I believe that a more telling change has been in the make-up of the church community, now younger and far more family -orientated, and now able to focus much more on mission rather than maintenance.

Prior to that we served 12 years with CMS (the Church Mission Society), initially in Kisangani in the Congo (then called Zaire), latterly in Nairobi, Kenya. Our diocese in the Congo was new and thinly spread over a vast area of the rain forest and ministry was a mix of training, building and supporting the church administratively. Both our children (James is now 25 and Peter 23) were born in Zaire and life was not without its frustrations and adventures! My job in Nairobi was running an office to support CMS’ mission partners across East Africa (which also meant offering constant hospitality in our home), combined with being part of the ministry at Nairobi cathedral. In our spare time, we took lots of friends up Mount Kenya.

We loved living and working in Africa, and it gave us an awareness that wherever we live, we belong to a world church. And however much the church in Britain or the West seems to be in a mess, the Christian faith globally is growing, and we have so much to receive through our relationships with other parts of the world church.

My ordained ministry began in Birmingham, with a curacy in Aston - again with sight of the M6! It was an inner city area, a great parish in which to “learn the ropes”, and it was during that time that I met Margaret, who was then nursing at the Birmingham Accident Hospital; we married in 1980. Recently she has been in palliative care. We actually met through cricket, which is still one of my passions. I also enjoy running, and watching rugby and singing and music, and climbing mountains: our son Peter went to Nepal last year and I hope next time we can go together.

My parents were Midlanders. They met in Leicester, where I was born. Our son James lives there now. So for several reasons, moving here feels a bit like coming home.

FOURTH having told you some of my story, I look forward to hearing yours, and the story of your journey of faith, because I know that usually other people’s stories are far more compelling that “what the vicar says”! During the early months of my ministry here, I will try to get to know as many people in Ash Green and Exhall as possible, both those who are part of the church family, and those who are not yet ...

There is much that excited me about St Giles’ when we first visited, including the clear sense of this being a friendly welcoming church and the strong commitment of many folk to play an active part in the life and ministry of the church. May God help us to build on what has been achieved in the past and to move forward together in serving and mission to our wider community.

Andrew Gandon