You may have noticed that postings have been far less frequent on this blog in the last month. I have also been slower than usual to respond to comments. There is a reason for this. Debbie and I have been very absorbed by a major change of direction in our lives. My current appointment here in Chelmsford runs out in a year’s time. We had been exploring staying on beyond then. However, four weeks ago, we changed our minds and decided we wanted to leave next year.

This has had all sorts of ramifications. I cannot go into them in public: Methodist policy asks ministers and circuit leaders not to discuss the reasons for such decisions in public, especially on social networking sites, blogs or the like. Not only am I bound by that policy, I also think it is wise advice. For that reason, I am confining my announcement here to these bare facts and taking the unusual step of not allowing comments on this post. However, I thought my regular readers (both of you) would like to know this, and I believe that by simply making the factual announcement but not having a public discussion of it, I have kept to the letter and spirit of our Good Practice Guide. It is effectively the same as the announcement made to my churches on 12th July.

We shall soon be putting together a profile as we seek a new appointment for next year. Please pray for us. Thank you.