Welcome
Our new Parish Priest
On the front page of the September edition of The Bridge, we said, ”Hopefully by next month, or even sooner, we will be able to introduce our new parish priest to you, and a new phase, not just for the church but for the whole community, will have begun.”. We are now happy to announce that the Rev Sandra Matthews is the new parish priest in Wootton, East Cowes and Whippingham and was inducted on October 9th 2024.
Sandra has spent most of her professional career working with children and young people in the education sector. About 10 years ago, this included working on the Isle of Wight as an education adviser.
She gave up her career in education due to her call to ordained ministry, and she was ordained at Winchester Cathedral, serving most of her training and curacy at Ringwood benefice. During that period, she also worked as a voluntary chaplain at her local hospital, was involved with palliative care, and was often in local dementia care homes.
Following her ordination to the priesthood, Sandra felt called to the challenging role of director at the Anglican International School in Jerusalem. In this role she merged her experiences as a head teacher with her pastoral call as priest, and experienced first-hand the suffering and pain caused by the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
“Part of the attraction to working at that school in Jerusalem, was because of my heart for reconciliation ministry,” she said. “For me, it is important to help people come together; to focus on what unites them – not what divides them, and if you can, to help them find ways to ‘disagree well’. People can hold their personal beliefs with integrity, but they can and should, still respect the different opinions of others.”
Sandra is married to Roy, who is a retired Anglican priest. She has two children and four step-children, as well as two puppies. She is looking forward to being on the island again, and getting to know the people in the community.
“My vision is for a church that is multi-age, cross-generational, welcoming, relational, and where all ages are growing in faith together,” she said. “Every age group is important to me, and what I love about these churches, is that they believe that too. All people have spiritual needs, and across these churches we want to see people coming to Christ and growing in Christ.” Bishop Jonathan will license Sandra on October 9 in St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham, and she and Roy will live in the Rectory here in Wootton.
Upcoming Service of Reflection and Prayer
Following the events in the life of the national church last week, we hope you have had the chance to read Bishop Jonathan’s response to the Makin Report. If not, you can do so by going to www.portsmouth.anglican.org/news/2024/11/12/bishop-jonathan-responds-makin-report/
We are only just beginning to take stock of the appalling failures and profound learning that the Makin Report presents us with. As part of our response within Portsmouth Diocese, each archdeaconry will host a Service of Reflection in Solidarity with Survivors on Saturday 30 November. The Minster is hosting this on behalf of the Island Deanery on Saturday 30 November 2024 at 11am.
Falling on the eve of Advent, it will be a gathering focused on the theme of longing for light in the midst of darkness. There will be some simple liturgy, hymns and prayers, but perhaps most importantly it is a space to be still, to light a candle and to seek the light of Jesus together. The service is open to all and we would be grateful if you would please make your congregations aware, but as members of Synod, it felt particularly important that you are made aware. Please regard this as a personal invitation and I will be glad to welcome anyone who is free to be with us.
Yours in Christ,
Revd Chris Bradish – Area Dean
Graham Salter – Lay Chair
