Rector's Summer 2026 Newsletter 

 
Dear Church Member,
 
We are already halfway through the year and have endured a heatwave followed by biblical rain followed by another and more intense heatwave.  Pentecost – where we enjoyed some amazing Spirit-filled services - has been and gone and Trinity Sunday is in the rearview mirror.  We are now in what liturgists call ‘Ordinary Time’ (marked by green frontals).  Except the times are anything but ordinary.  On the global stage a USA / Iran peace deal hangs on by a thread, Putin is on the ropes and at home we almost have a new Prime Minister.

Case for Space.  You may have heard me reference our endeavours to secure a site that will enable our expansion.  Many of you won’t be aware of all the work and effort that some of the PCC has been investing in our ‘Case for Space’.  We have visited several different properties and spent most of our time in meetings discussing options and possibilities. Some, I know, are feeling frustrated at either a perceived lack of action and/or a lack of communication.  So, let me bring you up to speed: 
 
There is currently one option which may or may not be viable and that is Bristle Hill (BH) – where we started this time last year.  The asking price has tumbled but it remains a risky and expensive project.  Most (but not all!) are, I think, agreed that the site does offer potential and would meet our future needs.  What we are all agreed on is that costing this option is not just vital but difficult.  Conscious of the fact that BH could be sold at any time, we are, I hope, soon going to pay for a Building Feasibility Study to be carried out for approximately £10,000.  This will give us a full set of visionary layout drawings, accommodation schedule, cost estimates and summary documentation all of which are needed to present a compelling vision to you the church to demonstrate the property’s feasibility.  We will then hold a whole Church Meeting to present the plans and if it is well received launch the fundraising.  We all feel that to start fundraising now, with no clear idea of what is possible, would risk it all just falling flat. 
 
This process cannot be rushed, and my concern is that the property is suddenly sold leaving us high and dry (and with no other option at present).  This is where we can only pray for the Lord to stop it selling until such time as the church has had the chance to discern God’s will for us. 
 
It is easy to dismiss this as just being about buildings and not people and therefore in some way ‘unspiritual’.  Nothing could be further from the truth: we are only needing to expand because we have been blessed with growing ministries (i.e. more people) and we need to improve our capacity so we can do more ministry better.  Isaiah puts it well in Chapter 54 verses 2-4:
‘Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.
4 ‘Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Please do be earnestly praying for this.

Rwanda.  Our planned SOMA mission trip to Rwanda is going ahead 10-20th November and we have a great team shaping up including two from other churches.
 
Alpha.   Alpha has been running and as ever is proving a huge success.  The recent Holy Spirit Day was one of the most powerful I have ever attended.  Well done to Lara and the team.  If you’d like to get involved (helping or leading) on September’s course, please let Lara know.
 
Looking further into the summer we have Summer Sundays starting on 19th July.  Remember that the 9am moves to 10am and the 11am and 6pm services combine at 5pm.  The outlines of the two different sermon series that we’ll be following are added to the end of this letter.
 
Focus isn’t far off and about 50 of the church family will be heading to Newark Showground for 4 days of camping as we gather with the many other churches of the HTB Network to worship God and feed on His word.
 
After Focus comes the youth event Dreaming the Impossible which has now become a very successful annual event for our Youth group. If you can help driving people there and back, do please let Sam know.
 
Plans for the annual Holiday Club are well advanced, and we have a full team ready to receive an almost full complement of children. Abi and Beth along with their wonderful team have been pouring themselves out into the planning and preparation for this major outreach event and it is looking like it will be the largest one we have had for several years. Please do pray that more children would sign up and that everyone would have a powerful encounter with the Lord.

Finances are holding up well and I do hope that we have all – if we can - managed to increase our giving in line with inflation as per the exhortation at the beginning of the year! It’s so important that we remain a generous church as everything we do is ultimately paid for by the generosity of those who give.
 
It has been sad to see Andrew Pegg finish his internship and we wish him well on his marriage to Alice on the 17th July.

This weekend we give thanks for another young leader whom we have grown and nurtured as Jacob Wigley was ordained Deacon at Chichester Cathedral on Saturday.
 
The Growing Leaders Course has been a huge success and those who attended have found it immensely helpful. I am so grateful for the expertise of Debbie Gibson and Betsy Kolkea for not only running this course along with Phil and Gill but also writing it.  As we continue to grow as a congregation, we must be investing in leadership and identifying those who God is prompting to step into it. If you think God may be nudging you in that direction, please do get in touch.
 
There is an exciting new chapter in the Women’s Ministry coming up as Debbie Gibson and Anke Stoltz jointly step into the leadership of that. Keep an eye on the notice sheet for upcoming events or contact them on women@bpchurch.uk with any questions, ideas or suggestions.
 
We are excited to be welcoming Mack Cauldwell as our new Contemporary Worship Leader, and he will start work at the beginning of September. Thank you so much for the various offers of accommodation and I now think we have somewhere for him to move into whilst he looks for a long-term housing solution.
 
Thanks to a very generous gift the organ is being upgraded over the summer and by the time we all get back in the autumn it should be an even more magnificent instrument.
 
We do continue to need more volunteers with our Children’s Ministry both at the 11 am and the 6 pm services. If you can help, please let Lucia know. Speaking of the Children’s and Families’ Ministry, please do earnestly pray that the right person offers themselves for Lucia’s role when she steps down in the middle of September. We simply cannot drop the ball on our children’s ministry and so this is a vital post to ensure remains filled with someone with a calling and anointing to work with our precious young people.
 
We have nearly 50 signed up for the Staycation 2nd to 4th October. During the staycation weekend we will explore what it means to be a church that is revival ready. Together, we will reflect on how we can grow in belonging, serving, giving, and being deeply connected in community, as we seek God's renewal for Buckingham Parish Church. We have the wonderful Paul and Christine Perkin coming as our main speakers and we have several fascinating seminars planned with great speakers. I hope that it will act as a sort of midterm ‘retreat’ where we can all come to rest and be recharged. If you haven’t yet signed up, please get your tickets. It really will be an outstanding weekend.
 
Finally:   If there’s one thing I could encourage us all to be doing more of in the coming weeks and months it would be praying. One of the dangers of a big building project is everyone just gets totally wrapped up with finances and spreadsheets and plans and projects and we forget our first calling which is to be disciples of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. And disciples pray, indeed they should be praying unceasingly not just for the needs of the wider world (which are of course immense), but also for the life of the Church, those who are struggling, our outreach and evangelism, our finances and our plans. Let’s make this a summer of dedicated prayer and I’m sure the Lord will surprise us with the most wonderful fruit in September.
 
Have a wonderful summer,
 
With much love
Will