Chads News - 15th April 2026

Dear Church Family,
It was a truly wonderful Easter in so many ways.  From Thursday to Saturday we had opportunities to engage deeply with God’s truth in our services.  Alongside our beautiful and powerful interactive prayer space, it was wonderful to welcome families from our community to come and experience it. Then on Sunday, the joy of baptisms and confirmations.  I also had the privilege of leading communion for a local church on between our services, and so I walked into a jam-packed St Chads at 11.10am on Sunday morning, to such an atmosphere of joy and love.  What a special morning it was!

Last night we had another special moment with our Alpha launch, welcoming 30+ guests, to enjoy a delicious meal, warm hospitality and to whet their appetite to know more about Jesus.  Please be praying for those who are signing up, that each one will discover the wonderful good news of what Jesus for themselves.

This is my last Chads News before I head off on Sabbatical, so I want to share a little bit about that, before I disappear for 3 months.  It is a great blessing that the CofE offers sabbatical leave to withdraw as Jesus did, to be with God, re-orientate, invest in relationships beyond parish life and learn.  (You can learn more about the Chester diocesan approach to sabbaticals here.)

I chose to apply for a sabbatical this summer as after a few years of team building, I have every confidence in Katie, Dave, our staff and leadership team to continue to see St Chads flourish.  It is also ten years since my last sabbatical, and a significant moment for our family, with major exams and important transitions for our boys, and then Luke and Kez’s wedding in October.

So what will I be doing?

The first thing is going away with Nells for some quality time together, followed by a silent retreat in St Beunos in North Wales, (A place I’ve heard wonderful things about).  Then a period of study for my doctorate, alongside supporting Caleb and Micah through exams.  My research focuses on healthy gospel-formed leadership, (I’ll happily talk about it for hours if you ask me in the autumn!).  I’ll also walk part of St.Oswald’s Way, along the Northumberland coast, and spend time on retreat near Lindisfarne. 

Finally I go to Korea with Micah for 5 days and then the rest of the family join us for a big holiday in Cambodia and Vietnam.   (We searched to find somewhere beautiful where the food is cheap enough to feed our boys for 3.5 weeks!!).  We land back shortly before NewWine, I’m sure camping with jetlag will be fine!

I have been working with Katie, Dave, the wardens and staff on handover and the team are well-prepared and empowered to make decisions in my absence.  It will be a great time for others to step into new leadership opportunities.

As you can probably tell, I’m hugely excited about each part of this.  Plenty of time with God, to hear his voice, quality time with those I love the most, and time to learn and be equipped for the next stage of ministry.  I don’t expect it all to be comfortable, as I shared at Still Hope, when we are still, things settle and that includes being more aware of the grotty stuff in our hearts, (believe me there’s plenty in mine!).   I would really value your prayers, I want to hear God speak deeply to my heart and for him to be Lord over this time both for our family and for St Chads. 

With love,

Richard.

 For the latest Chads News in full click here.