Celebration of New Ministry

In the old days we would have called it an induction service but the title on the front of the order of service was, The Celebration of New Ministry,which is a longer but preferable title in my opinion.
The church where the celebration took place was Christ Church Bayston Hill and we were not only celebrating the arrival of a new Vicar - Tim Lomax- who steps into the shoes of the much loved Ralph Goldenberg, who recently retired after many years of faithful ministry, but also celebrating the ministry of his wife Kate, who was Licensed as Associate Minister.
The service had a great deal to commend it, not least Bishops Marks sermon which was brief, and reminded me again that a sermon does not need to be eternal to be immortal. The Bishop spoke apropriately about the necessity for a leader to also be a servant.The hymns and prayers backed up this theme well and included a couple of my favourites Stuart Townend's Speak Oh Lord and Tim Hughes God of Justice.
In an interview with the Bishop; Tim came accross as full of faith and enthusiasm, with a passion to make a difference and a very strong sense of call

The singing was loud and enthusiastic,the amens were very affirming and taken together they signalled how excited the church are about the future under new leadership

These kind of services can drag on a bit ,but this one was over in about 65 minutes and it had everything necessary including an excellent Blessing at the end which included the words
May the boldness of the Spirit transform us,
the gentleness of the Spirit lead us,
the gifts of the Spirit equip us,
to serve and worship The Lord

I look forward to serving and indeed worshipping with Tim as I have with Ralph in previous years to build God's Kingdom in Shrewsbury