Dear Friends,

If you feel that an impostor has taken over the clerical hotspot, we share the same starting-point. However, it is an

inescapable consequence of an interregnum that the laity undertake many of the absent priest’s responsibilities. Apart

from the shock of discovering who gets to write The Link’s opening letter, this is a useful reminder of the way things

really are. As Tom Frame used to tell us during an earlier break in service, it is the congregation that constitutes the

church, not the priest. During Lent’s period of sober reflection, it seems to be a particularly relevant thought.

I confess that in general Lent has always been the lowest point in the year for me, and not one I look forward to. But

oddly enough this time, I find myself counting blessings. Here are a few: the sense of unity within the benefice that

Malcolm fostered; the incredible generosity of people in the community contributing their time and skill to help us on our

way, not least in the production of a parish profile which by the time you read this should be in circulation as our

advertisement for a new priest; and most constantly, Wendy’s ability to find time for us while planning her daughter’s

wedding.

And here’s the strange thing. Each of those blessings must have started off as an imposition, an extra effort demanded

from the person involved. Very Lenten. Tempting though it is to spell out the moral, I realise that it would amount to

preaching. Fortunately only priests are licenced to do that.

Nevertheless, on behalf of all the churchwardens I want to express a huge sense of gratitude for all who have helped.

There is unmistakably a touch of the divine in all generous acts.

Gratefully

Andro Linklater

Churchwarden, Holy Trinity, Markbeech.