End-Sabbatical Pastoral Letter

This is the text of a letter Peter wrote for the congregation at St Mary’s towards the end of his sabbatical leave.

Pastoral letter to the congregation of God’s people at St Mary’s Wootton


Dear friends

Very warm greetings in our Lord Jesus Christ from Mukono.

As we pack our bags, the words of an old song could be the voice of Uganda: ‘We don’t want to lose you, but we think you ought to go’! We have been so warmly welcomed here, but home is with you in Wootton and it is time to return. It has all passed so quickly – we can barely believe that we’ll be back in St Mary’s on Sunday 15th July. We are so looking forward to seeing you all again.

For me, this sabbatical has been a wonderful chance to see the gospel about Jesus bearing fruit in a different place, to flex some neglected spiritual muscles, and to read and reflect at greater length than normal. I am so grateful to God for all who have taken on additional responsibilities at St Mary’s to enable me to have the break, and also to the many people who in different ways have helped and encouraged us as a family to come here. For us, it has been very precious to be in Uganda together.

We can scarcely wait to share our pictures and stories, as well as to hear how God has been at work in Wootton since Easter. Weblogs and e-mails mean we have been in regular touch, but it is not the same as being face-to-face.

My main commitment at Uganda Christian University has been to teach the gospels to first-year students. The teacher always learns the most: I have been gripped as I’ve seen afresh how, in their own way, each gospel writer tells the good news about God’s love in Jesus. Secondly, I’ve been trying to understand better what it means for us as Christians to be ‘in Christ’, united to him especially in his death and resurrection. (We had a short sermon series on this at St Mary’s last year). I’ve learnt a lot – and there’s more to do.

Third, I have spent some time reading and thinking about parish ministry. Not because we’ve a curate arriving in September and your vicar needs to be on his toes (though I do)! Rather, because I find I so easily lose sight of the pastoral wood for the trees. UCU has been a good place to regain some perspective. For example, among the watering-holes where I’ve found refreshment have been some searching expositions of 1 Timothy about Christian leadership for ordinands every Wednesday morning.

Reading a wise pastor’s thoughts on ministry a few weeks ago, my eye was caught by his intriguing catch-phrase: ‘I am busy because I am lazy’. It rang a bell, because I know I have a reputation for being busy – and it haunts me. Parish ministry is being with people, with the gospel. If you think I am busy - too busy to be with you, with the gospel - there is something wrong. So what is the answer?

As I have thought about this, the threadbare slogan ‘back to basics’ seems to sum it up. When I was ordained – as when Ted Fell is ordained in the autumn – it was to the ministry of the word, and prayer. First, to be sharing the gospel of the love of God in Jesus (and all it means for the whole of life) among you and in our community as we gather together, on Sundays and in other groups. Second, to share the comfort, encouragement and correction of God’s love in Jesus with individuals and families as widely as possible, especially in situations of need and decision and at the turning points of life. And third, to pray – for you and our community. It’s simple, really! This is what the Church of England called me to be and do, and what I committed myself afresh to be and do when I came to Wootton. Disciple-making: the heart of ministry.

And I now realise that I am busy because the heart easily gets edged out to the margins. There is so much else to do at St Mary’s! Meetings, phone-calls, ‘running the church’, and so on, too easily dictate the shape of the week. So preparation to teach and preach - especially the hard task of working out for you week by week ‘what specific difference should this aspect of the gospel of God’s love in Jesus make to our life now? - can get short shrift. Unhurried time to spend with people becomes hard to find. And prayer too often becomes an afterthought instead of the first priority.

So I return to Wootton with a renewed determination to keep the ‘main thing’ as the ‘main thing’. To be among you in church as the one whose main responsibility is prayerfully to teach and apply the gospel, and to be among you as individuals and families prayerfully as the servant of the gospel. There are many other tasks which need to be done. But if I do not maintain the heart of ministry as the priority, and organise life so that it gets the best of my energy and time, I will fail you as the people of God. And betray the gospel of God’s love in Jesus. Next week, when we are back in Bedfordshire, I’ll be spending some ‘quiet days’ praying this through as my sabbatical leave comes to an end.

I love the T-shirt motto, ‘Please be patient, God’s not finished with me yet!’. The greatest gift a congregation can give to its team of leaders is its prayers. I want to thank you for your prayers and encouragement over the last five years. We are returning reinvigorated by our wonderful time in Africa and very much looking forward to discovering what God has in store for us all in the years ahead.

With love in Jesus,





Peter Ackroyd

4th July 2007