Farewell Message
1 year agoKevin Roberts retires at the end of September, after five and a half years as Director of ReSource, first in Wells and then in Telford. He will be staying in Shropshire and will be a ReSource Minister, with a number of writing projects and speaking engagements ahead of him, as well as some sabbatical rest and a chance to try out some new retirement rhythms. So, we won’t lose him entirely to the work of the charity, but here are some final thoughts from Kevin as he hands over on 1 October to Christopher Landau as the next Director of ReSource.
I can’t let the week in which I retire as Director of ReSource pass by without writing to thank all those who have made this last five years so enthralling and rewarding.
In the broadest terms this includes the whole company of people who make up the ReSource family of fellow-travellers. It also includes the smaller team of Trustees, advisors and intercessors, as well as the magnificent members of staff with whom it has been my privilege to work most closely. Thank you one and all for the personal support and encouragement that you have given me, and for all that I have learnt from your wise counsel and godly examples.
I shall miss the work enormously, but most of all I will miss the regular contact with such an inspirational bunch of people, who have won my heart as well as my deep respect. I shall keep you all in my regular prayers and be sure to pester you from time to time by turning up in my ongoing capacity as a ReSource Minister and active ambassador for our ministry wherever life takes me from this point on. ‘Thank you’ hardly seems sufficient to carry the weight of gratitude that I feel, but maybe it has to suffice for now. Thank You!
It is for others to reflect on these last five years and what they represent within the long story that began with The Fountain Trust and has continued through Anglican Renewal Ministries and ReSource. Only time will tell. I would like to think, though, that we have built a platform, a foundation, clean and firm, on which the ministry can grow and expand in the years to come.
I am deeply convinced that what we have now is only the beginning of what will be as God takes ReSource and uses it to help churches of all traditions to draw from the wellspring of Holy Spirit life, for renewal, discipleship and mission. I hope it isn’t too proud a thing to say, but I believe that what we offer, through the conduit of a ministry that it rooted in the realities of little, local and ordinary church life, is exactly what the church most needs.
No amount of strategizing and reorganising, in and of itself, will restore the church to the vibrancy of life and mission that we read about on the pages of the New Testament and which we see in the periods of spiritual renewal and revival that grace the pages of the church’s long history.
Try as we may, we will never plan our way to spiritual health. We can only receive it, as we bow our knees before the Father of all, and keep company with the Lord of all, and open our heads, hearts and hands to the inexhaustible life of God the Holy Spirit. There is no other way to life than through “the Lord and Giver of Life”, and this is a message and a ministry that is the very heartbeat of ReSource.
I am delighted that God has called Christopher to be the next Director, and I look forward to praying for Him and, as God leads, working with him in the years to come. I am sure, good people, that you will give him the same measure of love and support that you have given to me over these last years.
So, Thank You from the bottom of my heart for these years. Indeed, thank you for the cards and messages and generous farewell gifts that have, for once, left me speechless! I am taking so much good with me into a rather uncertain future as Anne and I navigate together her cancer journey. Such memories, Such love. Such wonderful testimonies to the grace and generosity of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
With my love and continued prayer,
Kevin
Lydia, Ian, Mutsa, Kevin. Kathy Christopher, Clare, Jolyon
