Congratulations to those from the Chapel and Academy who were baptised and confirmed on Holy Saturday at Guildford Cathedral, They will be receiving a gift and card from the congregation paid for by the Friends so thank you all for that on their behalf.
Thank you also to the choir and all those who came to the Holy Week services at the Chapel. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday were very special and it was great to see so many cadets at the latter. Holy Saturday at the Cathedral was also lovely and I think it meant a lot to the Cathedral to see the cadets there in uniform as well as to the Confirmands themselves.
So we are coming to the end of another Term and we look forward to the next when we welcome the new Assistant Chaplain Duncan Macpherson, his wife Jill and their three children to the Chapel. They are a lovely family and I hope they will be very happy here. Fr Michael and I will certainly be pleased to see them!
Next term will also, sadly, see Wendy Timm retire and I know she will leave a big hole in the life of the Chapel. That said she and Harry are fortunately not planning to disappear and so she will still be very much a part of Chapel life.
The Summer Term will also see Heritage Day on the 15th June and I hope we might be
able to use that to attract some new Friends of the Chapel. The morning service will
be later (11.30hrs as opposed to 10.30hrs) so that visitors can attend and it will
take the form of a simple Visitors Service which will give them a taste of what the
Chapel has to offer. There will also be a Choral Evensong at 15.00hrs in the afternoon
and so we all have some choice as to which would be the best service to bring our
friends too. I would ask you to think about whom you might invite to these services
and to Heritage Day as there must be people that you know who might like to become
part of the life of our unique Chapel -
After two terms here now I feel I am only just getting to grips with it all. I'm afraid I have had not been able to do as much with the cadets this term as I should but Duncan's arrival will mean I can do more next term. On the other hand it is good to see that some of the Chapel projects that have been in the pipeline are now coming to fruition. The new Guide is excellent and the extra video screens now mean that everyone should be able to see at the big services. The microphones still give us problems at times I know, but it looks like a substantial amount of money has been found to repair the damaged parts of the organ so that is very good news.
All that said, I hope that we can also find ways to grow as a congregation over the coming months. I also hope all of you will take seriously my first words to you when I arrived and come and speak to me if you have any good ideas or concerns. The chaplains' eyes will always be half on the Academy so I rely on you to suggest ways of building up the life of the Chapel as well. The Easter Message of new life is for all of us. It is not about vain innovation or superficial change. Rather it is about discovering a positive and affectionate atmosphere that makes us glad to be here. That all of you remain committed to the worship here, and to supporting the Cadets through that, is marvellous and I thank you for that continued support. It is vital to the Academy as well as the Chapel.
God Bless
Padre Tim