Good old Sleazyjet! I waved off the last of my family members who had been staying with me out here in Munster on Monday evening. Peta, Cole and Bertie were on the 1800 flight to Edinburgh and I on the 1840 to Luton. Just as the 1800 flt took off an announcement was made saying that my flight was delayed by 5 hours. "Oh what!?" So I went back to Munster and got on the 0700 flight on Tuesday morning instead.
From Luton on Tuesday I drove the 90 minutes up the A1 to Grantham to a conference of Anglican army chaplains at the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks. I needed to see 'the boss,' the Chaplain General. The Venerable Steve Robbins is a realy nice bloke and we have bumped into one another several times over the past twenty years or so - therefore we're not strangers! I had a difficult task ahead of me. Having been in post here in Munster only since February as a civilian chaplain working with the army (but not IN the army) I had to tell him that I have come to the point where I can no longer remain in the Church of England and therefore I have to resign.
He was extremely kind and understanding and not in the least surprised! In fact he indicated that in his opinion many more would be taking the same step - as indeed many have already done so. It will be a great wrench for me leaving the CofE after over thirty years of ordained life, but one must always sek to live by one's conscience, and in good consicence it is time for me to walk away and seek a home elsewhere. I shall be sorry to leave Munster too, which is a lovely place and I've met some really nice people here - and I can't avoid thinking that I'll be letting down them and my great colleague here. But it would be worse to stay on against that which one believes to be right.
So I'll be finally leaving here at the end of the month and returning to Ilchester in Somerset. I have another job appointment lined-up (more of which another time) and I am seeing my local RC bishop next week and will be discussing with him the posibilities of being received into the Catholic Church in due course.
Wednesday was my birthday, but not much opportunity of celebrating it - that will take place on Thursday evening with some chums, some champagne and a curry - but not necessarily all together at the same time!