‘Rector’s Ramble’ from Rev IAN HEPBURN for July 2025

Our TEAM RECTOR, Rev IAN HEPBURN’s ‘Rector’s Ramble’ for us –  July 2025 …

Dear Friends,

It’s BBQ season, wedding season and all manner of other community activities going on across our Team, and we’ve been connecting with friends and strangers alike and welcoming them along to our church communities.

Here are just a few examples of this from across the Team:
• The Festival of Flowers at St Peter’s Belmont which drew visitors and flower arranging experts from across the Deanery (and beyond). And, even in the midst of the activity and busyness, I heard of complete strangers being welcomed and new connections being made.
• At St Maxentius I had the joy of being asked to admit six children to Holy Communion. All the preparation that had gone into this day and the joyful way this milestone was celebrated by church and families (some who are new to our church community) was great to see, and I’m thrilled to hear about this happening across the Team.
• The Gardening Groups in Walmsley and Turton welcome women and men from across the parishes, and they do a wonderful job of making our
churchyards welcoming and peaceful places to be for those seeking to remember, to reflect, and perhaps offer a prayer. We might never know how many lives are blessed by this since the churchyards are open even at the times our church doors are not.
• The weekday and Saturday café’s across the Team are a hive of activity and welcome.
…I’ve selected one example from each parish to illustrate the incredible ways we are sharing the welcome of God in our communities. And I know these examples barely scratch the surface of all we are doing.

And by the time you read this we will have welcomed Angie Foster and Jan Bennett back to our Team as ordained ministers – an exciting moment for us all.

I heard a comment made by an Iranian lady, reported by Orla Guerin in Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent which stuck in my mind. She was fleeing her country with her daughter after the recent conflict, and said “We don’t know if any country will be good to us”. How difficult to be in such a precarious position. I know there are people who feel similarly precarious about their faith – ‘I don’t know if church (or even God) will be good to me’. The welcome offered in God’s name can and does make all the difference, it’s often the very thing that helps bridge the gap.

So thank you for all the times you’ve taken the trouble over the last month to welcome someone. So often it’s the seemingly little things that turn out to be the really big things.

Thank you, and best wishes,

Rev’d Ian Hepburn
Team Rector of Turton Moorland Team Ministry