The Greens

It seems very strange to be writing this now at the end of October when we moved at the beginning of August and I was ordained as a deacon on the 6th of September (photo is me on the big day).

So my humblest apologies to this little ‘ol blog for not exactly being current in my provision of news and information but hopefully this is better late, than never.

The Green family (all five of us now with Josiah in tow as well) left Cambridge in early August and moved to the outskirts of Chatham so that I could start work in my new church, St Philip & St James‘. As I said earlier I was ordained on the 6th of September and have been working as the curate there ever since.

(more…)

We are pleased to announce that it has now been confirmed that, following successful completion of his training in the summer of 2008, Dave will be the new curate at St. Philip and St. James’ church in Walderslade, Chatham.

We were offered the posting in the summer by our diocese and went down to look at the church and meet with the vicar there, Glyn Ackerley, a few times. Right from the get-go, it felt like the right place for us to be and we got on really well with Glyn and his family. It was a really easy decision for us and as soon as we knew that Glyn was keen for us to be there, it was a done deal! It’s been a little hush-hush since it was decided as it was important that the church family at ‘PipnJim’s (as it is known) were the first to hear the news.

We are looking forward to getting started and, in some ways, it’s hard to keep one’s mind on Cambridge when we now know where we will be. It also has the added bonus of being very close to Kerry’s family and only slightly further for Dave’s family so we’re looking forward to being that much closer to friends and family once again.

We will move some time in the summer of 2008 (dates yet to be confirmed) and Dave will be ordained in Rochester cathedral on 6 September 2008 at 3.00 p.m. Invites will, no doubt, be sent around in due course.

As many of our friends will know, I (Dave) have been pretty ill since towards the end of August. We have had it confirmed today by the doctor that I have got Glandular Fever. It’s incredibly depressing and frustrating and we would be glad of your prayers as I try to begin my recuperation.

The doctor has ordered total rest and while I understand that Glandular Fever is pretty hard to predict, she has estimated that it may take two to three months to recover. At present, the worst thing is that I seem to have developed a secondary infection in my throat which is making swallowing and speaking very difficult indeed. (more…)

This is just a brief update to announce that I’ve just heard that I passed my ‘Certificate in Christian Theology’ qualification ‘with distinction’ at the end of my first year here in Cambridge at Ridley Hall.

I am only doing the first year of this BA course which gives me a Certificate, before I move on to the Masters programme next year. However, I just wanted to announce what I got. Overall through the year, I averaged a First with seven out of nine essays getting 70% or more and the other two getting above 60%.

Of course, being here at Ridley isn’t primarily about the academic marks - it’s about being prepared to exercise ordained ministry… but even so, we were chuffed.

Time continues to pass quickly and yet again I can’t believe I’m writing a newsletter to update all our friends near and far on our progress here in Cambridge. Kerry and the kids are enjoying life in Cambridge and making lots of friends. Bethya’s potty training is going really well and she is really starting to get the hang of it, which is a real relief (excuse the pun). Nate is huge! The 91st percentile for his weight and 99th percentile for his height, he’s at the limits of his car-seat and many of his clothes. He’s not yet crawling but is starting to shuffle around on his bottom and is certainly enjoying mucking about with his sister. It’s already noticeable how much of a boy he is, loving rough and tumble and rougher games than his sister ever did when she was younger. There are now just three weeks to go to the end of term and the end of my first year here at Ridley Hall. I completed all my essays and handed them in on Monday just gone. I’ll have to wait a little while to hear the results. In the meantime, I have various ’short courses’ ahead of me that Ridley put into these end of term weeks to cover stuff that doesn’t fit well anywhere else. Forthcoming subjects include managing pressure, faith and business, why men don’t come to church and funerals! Eclectic mix, I know! Of course, it’d be nice to imagine a nice hugely relaxing summer like our student days of the past with nothing to do and lots of time to do it in. Sadly though, a hectic summer awaits the Greens with a lot on our prospective plates. After the term ends here, the whole family is dashing to Kent the next day because on the Sunday I start work on a month long placement at All Saints, Crowborough, who have been kind enough to allow me to come and work with them for four weeks. The day after that placement finishes, we dash back to Cambridge so that I can start the core module for the Masters that I am taking next year. That core module is done intensively over ten days in August and then we get a couple of weeks off before I’m off to the RAF in September on placement with them and their Chaplains. I’ll be coming back to college for a break, I think, after all that. We hope in the midst of all that we’ll get a chance to see you all. While I’m at All Saints, Kerry and the kids will be in Kent and, no doubt, enjoying catching up with everyone and while I can’t fit in New Wine this year, I know Kerry is looking forward to seeing everyone down at Boulder Gang too.