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FROM THE VICARAGE

By the time this magazine is produced our church should be all wrapped up in scaffolding as the building work begins. This first stage of our restoration project will address the roof, render and stonework and has been estimated to take 22 weeks.

Growth is never easy or comfortable: it involves change, unexpected problems and uneven progress. Yet it is also a sign of health as any parent will know! The church is not the buildings but the people. Let's not forget the precious gift we have at St. Paul's, the fellowship we share in Christ. I came across these words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's recently and hope that they will inspire you as they have me:

"It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God's grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is the grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren."

Jan Lowe, June 2005.