We have a Vicar! It is with great pleasure that the Churchwardens announce that the Rev. Brian Leathard, Senior Chaplain at the University of Loughborough, has accepted the living of the parish of St. James. We look forward to welcoming Brian, his wife and daughter to the parish in September. Details of the Institution will be announced as soon as they are available. Meanwhile arrangements are under way to tidy up the Vicarage garden and to update the vicarage itself before it receives its next incumbent. By September we will have been without a vicar for 15 months - a source of concern to many local clergy and lay people alike. Why the delay?

When I last wrote about our search for a new vicar it was at the time when our Patron had just placed an advertisement in the Church Times. It was as a result of this advertisement that Brian Leathard applied for the post of vicar. He came down to Hampton Hill to see the church and to meet the Patron and myself and was subsequently interviewed by both Churchwardens on a more formal basis. With the support of the P.C.C. Alan and I decided to recommend Brian’s appointment to the Patron. He agreed to our recommendation.

Problems then followed thick and fast. Robin Rogers’ patronage expired and passed into the hands of the Bishop of London. Brian Leathard went on holiday to the Middle East for a month. So it was not until mid-January that all the interested parties could begin the process of interviews and negotiations. Brian was unable to resign from his present post until mid-February, by which time he had missed the resignation date for Easter and would therefore have to fulfil his university contract which runs until 31st August 1989.

We are sad that Brian and his family will not be with us sooner, mindful of the enormous effort many people are making to keep the parish up and running. (Here is perhaps not the place to voice the reservations many of us have about the efficiency of the Church’s appointments procedure.) We are delighted that Gordon Wilson is back among us and cannot adequately express how valuable his ministry has been during the interregnuin.

We look forward to September with great hope and confidence, and trust that Brian and his family will be included in the prayers of all parishioners.

Source: Lesley Mortimer, The Spire Magazine - 1989 April

From our Vicar-Designate
"First let me say that we are very much looking forward to being at St. James, Hampton Hill at the beginning of September, although I don’t think anyone actually relishes the thought of packing, moving and unpacking! September seems a good tune to begin a new chapter both for you and for us. We hope that we shall be refreshed after a holiday and indeed that you will be ready and eager to begin again a range of activities and commitments which have slowed down over the summer to enable some space and time for re-creation.

By way of introduction let me say that we are three, by name, Brian, Ramani and Anusha, aged 6. Ramani and I met while undergraduates at the University of Sussex, where I read European Studies and she came from Sri Lanka to read Economics in the School of African and Asian Studies, a background which prepared her well for her present employment as Scholarships Assistant with Christian Aid. There she administers a variety of educational programmes and takes pastoral care of Christian Aid and W.C.C. students from the Third World studying in the United Kingdom.

After Sussex I taught in the University of Bonn, West Germany, before returning to Cambridge to read Theology at Selwyn College and prepare for Ordination at Westcoti House and indeed to marry.

1982 saw us return to Sussex to the parish of Seaford where I served my title for three years before venturing to the midland Diocese of Leicester, where since April 1985 I have been Senior Anglican Chaplain to the University and Colleges - three Institutions with a population of about 15,000.

Anusha was born while in Seaford and, while enjoying the sea air as her birthright, she has since developed a landlocked outlook and regards glimpses of the sea as a rare treat on holiday. Since being in Loughborough Ramani has completed a Masters degree and I have struggled on with my doctorate.

Ramani and I both enjoy music, food and travelling and we value spending time together as a family. We really do find great pleasure in meeting people and being with people, our house is rarely empty and we hope that you will feel welcome to call on us at the Vicarage. I am quite sure this small piece has not answered the questions you have about us, but we look forward to answering them and learning about you, beginning in September.

Source: Brian Leathard, The Spire Magazine - 1989 May

A New Beginning in Christ
"A wet and chilly evening outside the church contrasted greatly with the warmth, expectancy and excited chatter inside, on the occasion of the Institution and Induction of The Rev. Brian Leathard as Vicar of the parish of St. James on Thursday 14th of September 1989. The day the parish had awaited for so long had dawned at last. My hopes ran high for a new beginning, a stepping forward in faith into the unknown, with a new priest and his family, new relationships to be formed, new hopes and aspirations to be fulfilled, but most of all a new journey with God.

The most impressive parts of the service for me and many others were Brian’s prayers, the renewal of commitment by Priest and People and Brian’s welcome after the service. Our new Vicar’s prayers gave me hope for the future. They had spiritual depth. They were not just words but truly meant, coming straight from the heart delivered articulately. My heart filled with joy.

Take a few minutes to look again at the promises Brian made. What a gargantuan task he has in front of him. I quote just one of them although they are all worthy of quotation.

The Bishop: Will you be diligent in prayer, in reading Holy Scriptures and in all study and discipline which will equip you as a servant of the Gospel?

Brian: By the help of God I will.

Brian’s answer ‘By the help of God I will’ is the secret. With God’s ever pervading grace he will be upheld. But we his congregation, his flock what part do we have to play? Each one of us has a share in the ministry of Christ and during the service we too renewed our vows. If we are steadfastly living in the faith, as a congregation we can be an invincible support to Brian and his family. We would do well to remember that he and his family will bear both the joys and burdens of his calling.

A joy for me was seeing Brian’s little daughter Anusha, wave excitedly to someone she recognised in the congregation. A joy for Brian must have been to know that someone travelled from Seaford, where he served his curacy and friends came from Loughborough too. It gives us great joy to welcome you Brian, Ramam and Anusha. May you be extremely happy and fulfilled among us.

Let us go forward together rejoicing in the building of God’s kingdom and proclaiming his glory in the world.

Source: Janet Jeffries, The Spire Magazine - 1989 October