I’m delighted to be saying my first newsletter “hello”, having just arrived in this beautiful part of the world! Alan and I are very much looking forward to getting to know you all and sharing in the life of the communities here.

The autumn has been a time of farewells and welcomes for us. Farewells to friends back in Suffolk, where we have lived for the past fifteen years, and wonderfully warm welcomes from everyone since our arrival.

The villages here are all new to us, although we can’t quite understand why, having lived not a million miles away in the 90s and early 2000s. Warwick, Stretton on Fosse and Kingham have all been home at one time or another during those years, as well as London and Herefordshire. Not that I originate from any of these places, having grown up on a dairy farm in Somerset!

There are many references in the Bible to the importance of ‘welcoming the stranger in our midst’, and we would like to say a huge thank you for the way in which you have welcomed us. Hospitality is one of the most important gifts any of us can offer, whether to strangers, friends or neighbours. May God continue to use and bless this gift among us, in our homes, our churches and our community.

With very best wishes, Rev’d Jane.