MEET OUR NEW VICAR

Fr. David Farrer

He and his wife Helen arrive from Australia on June 16th.

They are both looking forward to meeting all of the St Nicholas family.

They will both be at our annual church fete on the 21st. June at the church.

 

On Sunday the 22nd Fr. David will celebrate at the 8.00a.m. and 10.00a.m. Eucharist and later that day he will be at the ecumenical boat service at St. Leonard’s South Stoke

 

For more details see below.

Dear Friends,

 

Last November we placed the following advertisement in the Church Times:

 

“Arundel, blessed with a committed, energetic congregation, a beautiful early medieval church, and a vibrant local community, seeks a Vicar to build on inclusive and open foundations and to meet contemporary challenges on outreach, young people, healing and bible based teaching, following a modern catholic tradition within the Church  of England.”

 

Our search is over

 

We are sure that in Fr. David we have found a spiritual leader who will guide towards our vision, as we expressed it in our Parish Profile, “of a strong, inclusive and caring Anglican community, united in faith,love and prayer to grow Christs kingdom hear on earth”

 

Fr. David was born in England, but was raised and educated in Australia. He was ordained as a priest in 1968 and served in a wide variety of clerical roles up to and including 8 years as Vicar of a major and historic parish in Melbourne. Since 1998 he has been Bishop of Wangaratta, a country diocese within the state of Victoria but has recently sought to return to parish priesthood. In 2006 he spent six weeks of his sabbatical leave in Lyminster, where he and his lovely wife Helen made a great many friends of all ages

 

Fr. Davids CV is broard reaching and distinguished, as can be imagined. Some extracts at random: Chaplain, Parliament of Victoria; “established four low fee Anglican schools in the Diocese of Wangaratta”; Citizen of the year, Brunswick 1983 ‘for work with the unemployed and homeless..’; ’fundraising for...five historic church properties’; Chaplain, Victoria Police Force; Commander of Merit, Order of St Lazarus 1994 for ‘initiating the street ministry known as the Lazarus Centre in Melbourne’. He is indeed a remarkable person.

 

He and Helen are wonderful warm people and we look forward to welcoming them to Arundel, Tortington and South Stoke, and to the Vicarage, whose doors, as they have already said, will always be open.

Representatives Joe Hayes and Daniel Hodson, Churchwardens of St. Nicholas

Reg Haydon, Churchwarden and Roland Grant P.C.C. Secretary St Leonards South Stoke

 

A BRIEF MESSAGE FROM FR. DAVID

 

With Helen, my wife, I look forward to the possibilities that will open up for the parish and for us in the next few years.

 

On my first visit to St Nicholas Church a few years ago I was impressed with the feeling of life and welcome there. On our recent visit to each of the churches of the Benefice and to meet with the Churchwardens tha first impression was confirmed and strengthened.

 

I look forward to working with you all as we seek to develop the parishes ministry and influence in the local and broader community

 

Helen and I are keen to come and live among you and to work with you. A key theme in ministry for me is hospitality. We look forward to the mutual sharing of hospitality with you all

 

In the first few months mine will be primarily a listening ministry to understand the parish. As with a garden, it takes all seasons to see where the plants, bulbs and other hidden or dormant treasures lie.

 

I am excited by the directions that the parish has identified for future development and growth and I look forward to working on these with you.

 

In my work as a bishop during the last ten years I have kept a close relationship with parish ministry, deliberately undertaking a different parish locum each year. Before that my whole ministry has been in parishes.

 

Most of this experience has been in Australia although I have taken the opportunity to work in English parishes on exchanges and on visits over the years.

 

Please keep us in your prayers as we face the emotions around disengagement from my present ministry and from the many people we have grown to love.

 

All of you at Arundel, South Stoke and Tortington are constantly in our prayers.