The Greens

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.

We are pleased to announce that Kerry is pregnant once again with our third child. So far everything is going well and both mum and baby seem to be doing well. The first scan was taken a week or so ago and we’re very pleased to publish this pic here on this site.

It’s obviously been difficult in the last few weeks, with Dave being sick (still) and unable to do as much as usual so Kerry’s been carrying a heavy load as she went through the first trimester whilst managing Bethya, Nathanael and Dave! Still, everyone is fine and doing well and we’re looking forward to the arrival of baby number three. Baby three is due towards the end of May.

Happy Birthday today on the 21st September to Nathanael who celebrates his first birthday today! Happy Birthday also to Kerry who celebrated her birthday yesterday.

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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.