Chatfield 

Chronicles

2013

It doesn't seem long since we were celebrating Christmas 2012 and enjoying New Year celebrations with Michael and Helen and their families down at Helen’s family’s holiday ‘barn’ down in Devon. It made a lovely change not to be the one organising for the 10 of us!

Adrian’s sabbatical last year has ushered in a time of change for us both. I retired from Ridley in June and have no regrets at all. I love the greater elbow room and more measured pace while having enough to do to ensure I don’t completely vegetate!

In some senses I have the best of both worlds in that I still keep contact with Ridley through Adrian; I go to the Thursday evening College Eucharist and have catch up time with the students who are continuing into their second or third years. Having lost my ‘Permission to Officiate’, I now have a licence as a non-stipendiary Associate Minister in the Lordsbridge Team, which means I can continue to help at St. Mary’s and within the team of 12 churches. There is a firm boundary of two Sundays and up to two days in the week doing pastoral stuff and I don’t do Deanery or Diocesan meetings, joy of joys!

No obvious immediate changes for Adrian. He knows he will do 2½ years maximum more at Ridley, as he doesn't feel ready to stop yet. He continues to enjoy the teaching, the pastoring and spiritual direction, the supervision of dissertations and theses, and is hoping that the possibility of a teaching trip to Rangoon comes off in 2015.

One of his key colleagues, Jane Keiller, Ridley's chaplain, is also retiring in February. As they are responsible for chapel and head up the Simeon Centre for Prayer and the Spiritual Life together, there is much thought to be given to the longer term future, particularly of the Simeon Centre.

Having spent so much time abroad last year, we decided to stay on this island for this year’s holidays. At Easter we intended to walk around Snowdon but really heavy snowfall meant we stayed on the Welsh borders, where there was still an abundance of snow. On arrival we drove up to higher ground to explore and the road was blocked by ice. Adrian had fun reversing on a narrow country road for the best part of a mile and a half between hedges higher than the car and weighed down with snow. It was a good job snow is soft as he did manage to put us in the hedge more than once!

In summer we went to Scotland, enjoying a week in the holiday home of a former student and very good friend. The house is situated in Errogie just up and over the bank on the south bank of Loch Ness. A beautifully wooded, deliciously quiet spot that just breathes peace. We swam in Loch Ness (in wet suits!) once at 7.30 am with a brisk breeze blowing on a very cool day. It contains 80% of the fresh water in the United Kingdom and is as deep as it is wide. That was cold, really cold!

We then discovered a smaller loch nearer to home and went for a regular early morning dip before breakfast – stunning. We went on to caravan in Glencoe and on the Isle of Skye. As it was Scotland, we made serious preparations for rain and even bought a small porch awning for hanging up wet walking clothes. AND, believe it or not, it only rained once on our very last walk! Some mist during the first day or two and then beautiful blue skies and some excellent walking.

As we look back we are grateful to God for good health, for Ridley as it continues to be in good heart and to be filled with some really amazing students and for our family. Michael and Helen are now in RAF Honington, just the other side of Bury St Edmunds and we do get more opportunities for meeting up en passant.

We are also aware of some close friends who have had some difficult times during the course of this year. We pray that you may know God’s healing presence as we celebrate the coming of his Son, Immanuel, God with us.

Isaiah 35 is the Old Testament passage set for this Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. As the people of Judah lived in fear of the fate that had already overtaken their Northern counterparts (and may already have overtaken them!!), we sympathise with those weak hands, feeble knees and fearful hearts. The huge gap between the world as it is and the world as God intended it to be is now, like then, is a difficult one to live with. But the message of Advent is to wait in hope and and the message of Christmas that God himself has taken flesh in order to put it to rights.

May God bless you and your families at this Christmas time and fill you with all joy and peace in believing as you look to the coming year.

Adrian and Jill

12 Barrons Way

Comberton CB23 7EQ

01223-263009