Yesterday was our College Community Day and Valedictory Service, a day characterised by all that makes us who we are, who we have been, and who we will be in a slightly different guise going forward.  We worked hard to prepare for the day, and all that hard work surely paid off as Spirit-ordered Godly-chaos gave rise to laughter and tears, songs and stories, serious and silly, in a hopeful, hope-filled, hospitable and happy day.

From a story-box retelling of the Vashti story, to the Magnificat in BSL with interpretation to English; from Lego models to rainbow fridge magnets, party bags to bubble blessings; from tiny tots to life-long connections, liturgical responses to hands raised in praises... and a whole lot more... this Northern Baptist College, a crazy, creative, Christ-loving community that is simultaneously around 60 years old and more than 200 years old! 

As we honoured the past, and embraced the future now unfolding, it was a day to treasure. 

I first entered the portals of this place in 1998, as a lay student, exploring my call to ordained ministry.  A year later I began formal training and, a quarter of a century later, I now enjoy the privilege of working with others to help form minsters for a new generation.

For all that has been, thank you; for what is yet to come, yes!