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From the New District Chair ~ The Revd Ruth Gee

Among the items which I am bringing to Darlington from Halifax are some boxes which contain pictures, pieces of written work and other items produced by our son and daughter when they were children. They are treasured memories and, although they are not looked at very often, we keep them because they represent an important stage in our family life. There used to be many more of them but each time we move the boxes are opened again and 'rationalised'. We need to go through this sorting process or the memorabilia would become far too burdensome. As I sort through these and other items I sometimes find myself being drawn back to the memories of the past, intrigued by pieces of history or snippets of information not registered before. There's nothing wrong with this as long as I remember that my main task is to prepare to move on to new places, new experiences, new challenges and new relationships.

The process of packing and moving is uppermost in my mind as I write this. It will be superseded by other things very soon but it reminds me of aspects of our journey together in the Methodist Church. There are experiences and treasured memories which are some of the building blocks of the life of our church. It is right that we value them and learn from them. It is right that we carry some of them with us as we move on, but we must sort through them regularly to make sure that they do not become burdens tying us down rather than inspiration for our life today.

I look forward to learning from you about the things that you treasure. I look forward to sharing with you the challenges, opportunities and joys of sharing the good news of God's love in Christ in ways that are relevant in our communities today. I look forward to working with you on the basis of the Darlington District's vision statement, which has sharing God's love and making disciples at its heart.

Thank you for the messages of welcome and the assurances of prayer that you have sent to me during the last year, they have been very much appreciated and always seemed to arrive at just the right moment. You have been, and will continue to be in my prayers as we work together.

Yours in Christ,

Ruth Gee