10 years on…

 10 years on…

... and it’s time for a new Cathedral Dean at St Peter’s and at St Thomas More on the Marsh.
This is my final weekend with my people, so I wanted to express my sadness in parting but also my deep joy at being a member of our two parish communities. You have let me into your lives to share events of great elation and profound grief, and these things help forge us into the people we are. I have been blessed with brother priests who have assisted in taking the parish community forward, often through challenging times. I remember with gratitude the work of Fr Stewart Keeley, Fr Andrew Dawson, Fr John Paul Evans, Fr Stuart Chapple and now Fr Mathew Minisare.

Fr Steve Pearson

We were also blessed for many years by the ministry of, now retired, Deacon, Jim Wood. I/We have also been blessed by having Damian Howard as our Organist and Director of Music ably assisted at one time by a number of organ scholars and more recently by Karen Jones. We have a number of very loyal volunteers who help the parish to function in a vital way and I am very grateful for their time and dedication. Among them I will single out Joan Fox. For the last ten years, and to a slightly lesser extent onward with Fr Millar, Joan has used her administrative skills to help keep several aspects of parish life functional including building work and repairs, project planning, organising a Bishop’s ordination. Hours of work, unpaid by the parish, simply because of the love she has for our parish. Thank you Joan.

Now it’s time to welcome Fr John Millar as Cathedral Dean. Fr John arrives into the parish tomorrow, Monday, to begin his ministry. He has been a priest for 12 years and brings with him experience and youthful energy. Look after him!

Thank you for continuing to support the Cathedral and St Thomas More parish. Please pray for me as I take up my new appointment at Holy Family parish Freckleton with St Anne’s Westby. May God’s Kingdom come. Amen!  Fr Steve.