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A New Future!

The beginning of a New Year is always a time of speculation as we wonder what the next twelve months will bring. Of course, a lot is predictable because it will be much the same as last year, but each year always brings something different or new. This year is no exception as we look forward to celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of our Queen and hosting the Olympic Games. The Diamond Jubilee will be an opportunity to give thanks for the dedication and commitment of our Sovereign who is the second longest reigning monarch of our land.

Only her grandmother, Queen Victoria, has reigned longer and if Queen Elizabeth continues to 2016 she will be the longest reigning monarch. No mean achievement given the strains and the stresses of public life!

On a personal level, for me, 2012 will bring a huge change, as I retire from fulltime ministry.

We shall leave Sawbridgeworth in May, my last Sunday at Great St Mary's being 22nd April. After 32 years in the ministry and 10 years in teaching before that it will mean a very different way of life for Elizabeth and me.

At the moment I can only speculate as to what it will be like, but I know that it certainly isn't predictable! Moving to a `new' house in Cambridgeshire and finding our way in a new community creates both excitement and apprehension, but I am sure we will soon find things to keep us busy and new activities to get involved in. Hopefully, we will have plenty of opportunities to say farewell to the many people whom we have got to know in Sawbridgeworth over the past 9½  years.

Whatever this year has in store for you, I pray that it may be a year full of opportunity and fulfilment. Our future doesn't just lie in our hands. God walks with us every step of the way and if we allow him, he holds us in his hands. In fact, as the `Footprints' story tells us, he carries us when things get rough.

May God bless you and keep you throughout this year.