Dear Friends
Please find attached a Farewell message from our beloved Archdeacon Father Geoff. His official leaving date is this Wednesday as he celebrates his 75th Birthday on Thursday. We wish him a very happy birthday.
A Farewell Message from Fr Geoff Johnston, Archdeacon of Gibraltar and Italy and Malta
When I took the advice of my bishop in 2005 and attended a pre-retirement conference, I never dreamt that it would take 14 years to come to pass! Now, with only a few days to go I am wondering what God has in store for me.
I have been extremely blessed in that I have been able to continue working for ten years beyond what was normal retirement age and have been able to do so as a priest in the most exciting Diocese in the Churchof England. What is more I have had the opportunity during my time in ministry to work among so many remarkable people and have shared in a wide range of fulfilling experiences. I am very conscious that God has been extraordinarily good to me and that, despite my many failings, He has been my constant companion and guide and that if there is anything that has been of value in my ministry, it is through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Working alongside so many wonderful Christian people, lay and clerical, has been a great privilege and joy, and it was a great honour to be invited to serve the last six years of my active ministry as an Archdeacon first of Gibraltar and then of Italy and Malta as well. I wish to thank you all for your support and prayers, your encouragement and cooperation, and at times your questioning and criticism. I hope I have listened to you when necessary. I have learned much from you and pray that together all of us have grown in our love of God and commitment to Him.
Retirement will bring yet more new opportunities and blessings, I am sure. Being able to spend more quality time with my dear wife, Carol is certainly something I am looking forward to (and I hope she is too!). Joining a choir in the community is a possibility and as many of you know, there is the model railway that requires some attention. I have been granted Bishop’s Permission to Officiate in both our Diocese and in Derby Diocese so exercising priestly ministry occasionally will not cease for the time being. Meanwhile, the news of Fr David Waller’s appointment as Archdeacon gives me great joy, hopeand confidence for the Church in these two Archdeaconries.
Finally, I am attaching a card asking for your prayers not only as I begin this new stage of my life, but as I celebrate 50 years in the sacred priesthood just before Christmas. I assure you of my continued thoughts and prayers and pray that God will richly bless you in all you do in his name.