It is with great sadness, but with a sense of excitement and anticipation, that Lucy and I are leaving Rose Cottage and Twerton to take up the post of Vicar in another parish.  We are aiming to move in early December.  It seems strange to leave the Community when things are going so well, so why are we leaving?  Well, the short answer is that God is leading us and is calling us to go and lead a church!

Over the past two years we have put a huge amount of energy into the Rose Cottage project.  In fact, we have hopefully turned it around from being a church ‘project’ to a Community with a capital C – a group of people, committed to each other and to God, with a common purpose or goal.  This Community is not based around Lucy and I – and if it was, then we should definitely be leaving – because it is not, and never has been, about us.

Our vision was to create an environment where people could flourish and I think, under the grace of God, that we have achieved that.  One analogy is getting a rocket into orbit.  We have put all our energy in to get this thing off the ground – our time, money and effort – but now the rocket is in orbit, it needs some new skills to take it further into outer space – to build and maintain the space station.

So what has been achieved over the past two years?  Well, too much to list here!  The Rose Cottage Community does what it says on the tin – a faith community that seeks to bless the wider community through running a community centre and cafe.  We have loved every minute of it and will miss the Community here.  We love you all and you will always be in our prayers.

Heaps of Peace

Gavin and Lucy