Dear friends,

Thank you so much for the wonderful send-off we as a family received yesterday!

We are so moved by and grateful for your many lovely messages, cards and words and your overwhelming generosity.  It was a wonderful privilege to lead you into worship at 8 and 10am yesterday morning, to gather as the family of God in His presence, and to meet our Lord Jesus in word, worship, prayer, and sacrament. And just what a wonderful lunch it was to have so many of you together around the ‘charcoal fire’, to enjoy each other’s company and to say goodbye.

A massive thank you to Alan and Susan, to Nicola, and to Sue, Peter, Martin, Rodney, and Sarah our Area Dean, who have been such wise, prayerful, kind, and supportive friends, and also to you all, you all work so hard and do so many amazing things (many of you quietly) that I am often humbled by your loving and faithful service to the Lord and His church. A special thanks yesterday to all those who worked so hard organising everything, setting up the barbecue and cooking, bringing food and desserts, washing up, and clearing up. It couldn’t have been any better.

As I have said many times in the last few weeks, these three years have been such happy years for us as a family, and we will miss you all very much. You remain in our heart and in our prayers and we are very excited about what God has next in store for Cranleigh, and we are praying especially for Natalie as she prepares to lead you in the next chapter at St Nicolas.

With prayers and blessings,

Erik Heemskerk