One of those Christmas letters

We are pleased to say that 2017 has seen no great occurrences in the lives of the Lloyds. Please feel free to skip to the final paragraph if you would like to miss out the boastful padding in which I (Marc) largely go on about myself.

I had a 3-month sabbatical. The diocese currently allows these for 10 years of good behaviour, so I have started being good again and counting the days! It made me look forward to retirement – though I may well have to go on until I’m dribbling into the chalice. Although I worked pretty hard for most of it, it really was wonderful to please myself and not the have the weekly treadmill of preparation. I didn’t look at a single agenda or revise any minutes, though I did (perhaps foolishly) keep half an eye on my emails. I spent 10 days speaking on an Oak Hall trip to Israel (my first time) which I would highly recommend as the most economical way to see Biblical sites in around Jerusalem and Galilee, and with an evangelical set up. The parishioners are demanding slide shows! Unfortunately, I, and many on the trip, were afflicted with E-Coli. I will need to go back again to explore The Mount of Olives which I missed for the sake of close fellowship with the loo! It was a tremendous relief to get off the plane without accident. As well as a bit of praying and reflecting and that sort of thing, I also spent 3 weeks at London Seminary and have 90% written two potential journal articles about the doctrine of Scripture. I now need to fuss around in the footnotes with the Chicago Manual of Style, so they will probably never see the light of day. I have not done a stroke on them since returning to work in July.

Parish ministry continues to proceed happily enough. For the first time in living memory every post in the Deanery is filled so I don’t have to worry too much about interregna for the time being. Mrs Lloyd’s toddler group continues to be beating people off with a stick and we are rejoicing that 7 mums and 2 leaders have been studying the Bible together at the Rectory. This feels like a dramatic breakthrough for us!

The nappy years are drawing to an end and Mrs Lloyd (age undisclosed) has been having high powered singing lessons, has joined 2 choirs and been involved in a number of concerts, recently enjoying singing in the Messiah. Scripture is being hummed around the house. Oh, and we have splashed out on a baby grand piano. We are pretentiously calling The Old Study, The Music Room!

Jono (10) is often beating me at chess now. He continues to disappoint me by having an inordinate knowledge of the round-ball Premiership and so on. Our Saturdays are often spent transporting him to some cold and rainy part of Kent or Sussex so that he can chase around in the mud.

Abi (7) continues to Irish dance and won a trophy at her first competition (an extraordinary occasion to be seen to be believed) and has joined Warbleton Brass Band which is virtually free and provides instruments. We were getting Reveille at 5am on the cornet at one stage, but thankfully that has diminished. We now need to find a happy medium between over-eagerness and little or no practice.

After much lamenting of “I’m rubbish and I can’t do it” middle-child syndrome Matthew (5) is now reading confidently and enjoying taking his spellings to bed with him. Meal times are perhaps too dominated by maths quizzes, when anyone can get a word in edge ways.   

Thomas (3) is as lively as ever. He has just starred in his nursery nativity play as the star and made the most of his line (“I am the star!”) by shouting it repeatedly.

Caleb the dog is showing signs of age as he approaches 10. He was a 30^th birthday present for me so I am also wondering whether I should have some kind of midlife crisis and invest in a red sports car.

A very Merry Christmas to you! Marc, Yvonne, Jono, Abigail, Matt Matt, Tommy and Caleb the dog. Oh, and Esther the cat, who is also flourishing, recently obtained a distinction in Grade 8 Oboe and has applied to read medicine at Oxford.