Farewell to our Office Team

Saying goodbye to valued colleagues and friends is never easy, but in the next two weeks we will have to do it twice.

This coming Thursday, 5th February we will say goodbye to Sharon Evans, our Parish Administrator and Vicar's PA. Sharon joined us in February 2020 initially to cover maternity leave for six months, but ended up staying for six years, becoming an integral part of our parish life. Sharon is looking forward to spending more time with her family and exploring volunteering opportunities in Bedford.

Then the following Friday, 13th February, we will also say farewell to Robin Bartlett, our Centre Manager and Pastoral Assistant, as he relocates away from Bedfordshire with his family. Robin began his time with us in 2016, and his initial intention to stay two or three years to explore working in the voluntary sector turned into nearly 10 years of dedicated service.

For many visitors to this church, Robin and Sharon have been the face of St Paul's, whether welcoming tourists and members of our midweek congregations, providing pastoral care and signposting to other services for those in need, arranging events with external hirers, or helping couples arrange weddings, parents arrange baptisms and so much more. Their departures mark the end of an era.

After years of dedicated service, they also forged a strong and supportive friendship and it is therefore not a surprise that as Robin moves away, Sharon also decided that it was the right time for her to leave St Paul's also.

Robin and Sharon leave with our heartfelt thanks, as well as our blessing, prayers and best wishes for the future.

New office arrangements:

Plans for the future of the office are well underway (watch this space), but there will inevitable be a time of adjustment as we welcome the new team, so please bear with us over the next few weeks. The office telephone number will remain 01234 340163 (do leave a message if there is no answer) but there will be a new email address for the office from next week: office@stpaulschurchbedford.org.uk. Emails to Robin and Sharon's existing addresses will be automatically forwarded to the new address once they have left.