Sep-Oct 2025

Christine McAteer’s farewell article on p.10 began life as a sermon. Its title is a quotation from Psalm 84, which opens with the line, ‘How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord God of Hosts!’ This Psalm is a poem about the blessings of cultivating trust in God and contains the words: ‘Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.’

Whether or not Christine feels that moving to Kings Norton in 2023 meant leaving behind the tents of the wicked, those who have come to know her here would surely agree that her contribution to Kings Norton Parish has far exceeded the role of a humble doorkeeper. With sadness but above all gratitude, we say goodbye to her this month, confident that, as her ministry continues elsewhere, it will remain a blessing to many.

Psalm 84 also reminds us that those ‘whose hearts are set on pilgrimage’ are blessed. Spiritually, it is vital not to stand still for too long. 

So, on p.32, Jayne Crooks recounts a recent pilgrimage to the cathedral in our neighbouring diocese, Lichfield; on p.22, Thelma Mitchell undertakes a pilgrimage of sorts into Derbyshire; on p.34, Pauline Weaver outlines some of the landmarks on the voyage ahead as we navigate a period without a Rector; Barbara Wilkinson reflects poetically on p.38 about the journey that brought her back to Kings Norton after many years; and on p.14, you will find an explanation of the long and winding road that has led the Anglican church to where it is today, a journey still very much unfolding.