Rev. Kath McBride:  01904 489349
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Church Street, Dunnington

York, YO19 5PW

2. Mark's Letter

A letter from Mark Poole - our new curate from 5 July 2020

Mark Poole and his wife EmmaAt last, after almost a year of knowing that I am to serve as your curate under the guidance of Nick, my unwavering excitement in anticipation of being with you is finally over! It is now a reality! My time with you will commence on the 5th July, and Emma and I are very much looking forward to becoming part of the church family and community across Stockton on the Forest, Warthill, Holtby and Dunnington. 

We have moved into a house provided by the diocese and are very grateful that it is as close as is possible to the benefice. The address is Bede House, Field Lane, Heslington, YO10 5ED and the telephone number is 01904 426522. We look forward to welcoming you if you are passing and when, of course, this is permitted given the times we are living in and the impact it is having on our daily lives.

Like so many of us, joyful occasions and life transitions we had planned and looked forward to for the year ahead have been unexpectedly halted and put on hold. The global pandemic has forced us all to tread tentatively into an unfamiliar and challenging landscape where we find ourselves navigating our way through uncertainty, disappointment, heartache, and loss. This is not the terrain I was expecting as I commenced my journey of service and ministry with you! I have certainly lamented that graduation from college has had to be via Zoom, and that the service of ordination will have to take place later this year in a ‘new normal’ fashion. Whilst this has felt like an uphill struggle at times, nevertheless, like many walks in life, there are also moments of breath-taking surprise and elation as you reach a summit and the panoramic vista stretches out before you. 

From where I am standing right now, the view may not be as I had imagined, but it is no less exhilarating and inspiring. The verses from Isaiah 43:18-19 have repeatedly whispered to me over these last few weeks ‘Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert’. Our loving Father IS doing a new thing through this pandemic. We ARE seeing the fruits of the work of the Holy Spirit in the new ways that He has brought His children together in loving communion with one another and with Himself. We will all have stories to share that celebrate this powerful love of God at work in our lives. And I WILL find ways in which I can meet you and be present with you… the Holy Spirit will make a new way, and rivers will flow with His love and grace. This fills my heart with hope, joy and a renewed energy for our walk together onwards into the new dawn.  

Your curate

Mark

 

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