Dear St Mary’s friends,

Many thanks for your continued prayers and support for our ministry in Henley. I served my curacy at St Mary’s from 2013-2018 and since then have been leading a new congregation called Trinity at Four in Henley-on-Thames. Here are some updates for your prayers.

Family

A recent family holiday in the New Forest

We’re grateful for God’s sustaining through a busy period of life. Our kids are all doing well, and we’re encouraged that in their own way each of them is growing in a knowledge and love of Jesus. Amelie is 8, JoJo is nearly 7, Barney is nearly 4 and goes to school in September, Esther is nearly 2, and will start at a pre-school a few mornings a week from April. Please pray that as a family we would embody the church vision we have recently rearticulated – to be ‘rooted in Jesus and fruitful for him’.

Trinity at Four

God has continued to give us steady growth with newcomers regularly coming along, including a good number of those with little church background. Our leadership team recently thought together about ‘God of the One’, who loves, seeks, finds, and leads individuals. Please pray that we would share his heart for each individual in our church family.

The Trinity Plan

Holy Trinity Church is in the residential heart of Henley. The Trinity Plan will see Holy Trinity and Trinity at Four join together with a united identity, meeting in the same redeveloped church building.

We would especially love your prayers for an exciting set of plans for our future:

  • In September Sam will be appointed as incumbent of Holy Trinity Henley
  • Holy Trinity and Trinity at Four will come together into a single church family, with a single leadership (with a morning and afternoon congregation)
  • We will seek God’s provision to redevelop the Holy Trinity church building so it can be a home for both congregations and a hub for our mission in Henley and the surrounding region; Trinity at Four currently meets elsewhere due to a lack of suitable facilities at Holy Trinity

I hope I will have the opportunity to come and share these plans in more detail with you all in the coming months, and in the meantime, we really value your prayers. Please pray especially for God’s leading and provision as we navigate a period of change at an unstable time in the life of the Church of England.

Much love,

Sam, Lucy, Amelie, JoJo, Barney and Esther