Blog Archives
ALL CHANGE COME THE NEW YEAR
Ann - going it alone
Ian Robinson - going to Bedale
Michael Blanch - going south
Vicar Ann Chapman is having to rejig the parish schedule to cope with the loss of her two curates: Ian Robinson has been appointed to his first living, in Bedale, where he was originally on loan for their interregnum, and Michael Blanch is heading to Eastbourne with wife, Penny, for family reasons. Although technically still under training until the end of January, Ian won’t be returning to this parish. Instead, he’ll take a two-month break before his induction as Rector of Bedale in April. Michael is expected to leave the area some time after Christmas, having already bought a house in Eastbourne. Both will be missed, but Ann has trained some of the laity to help with services that don’t necessarily need a priest – morning prayer, for example, and the informal cafe-style service once a month.
Meanwhile, with one priest (Ann) doing what three used to do, some compromises have had to be made: the 8.00am service (Book of Common Prayer) is now held at 2.00pm and only on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. Timing will be reviewed in April, but Ann feels it makes more sense in winter: by 2.00pm the church should be warmer and the journey to it less hazardous. A full list of church services is here.
There’ll be a safari-style farewell for Ian and Mike on Sunday 29 January. It will start at Hardraw for breakfast, move to Hawes for coffee, on to Stalling Busk for cheese and biscuits, then Askrigg for pudding. There’ll be a short service at every stop. Details nearer the time. Ian writes . . . Read the rest of this entry
IT’S ‘AU REVOIR’ AS IAN BRIDGES THE BEDALE GAP
Ian shares a joke with churchwarden Christine Hallas
Our popular and hard-working curate, Ian Robinson, is moving to St Gregory’s in Bedale on a seven-month placement. He’ll be sorely missed but promises he’ll be back at the end of January.
Ian was asked to fill the gap (what used to be called the interregnum) between rectors. Former Rector of Bedale, Simon Rudkin, has moved to The Otteringtons near York, where he is also police chaplain, and his successor has yet to be appointed.
Ian, 58, is a business consultant who was ordained deacon in June 2008 and priested a year later, and has served all his ministry in and around Askrigg and Hawes. He’s been an active member of the community in all sorts of ways, as a school governor at Bainbridge, on the board of the Bainbridge Hydro, and on the steering committee of Sure Start and the children’s centre in Askrigg.
Ian says that although it’s only a temporary move it has been a painful one. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to get a different perspective on my ministry, and decide how I want it to develop, and already I’ve been made to feel very welcome in Bedale. But leaving Askrigg has been extremely difficult for me. I have always felt so valued, and so much part of the community, but the nature of the work we do as priests inevitably means accepting change and a placement is part of our training requirements.”
Many people may not realise that Ian is a non-stipendiary (unpaid) minister, and in theory (very much in theory) works only three days a week, a situation that will continue during his placement. We wish him well and look forward to his return.
