‘Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good: for his steadfast love endures for ever!’ (Psalm 118:1)
Dear Friends,
My name is Mickey Mantle. As you will likely know I have been given the very great privilege of coming to St Thomas’ to serve as your next Rector. I am married to Ellie and we have been entrusted with our children Jono (7), Olivia (5) and Theo (3).
Many of you have kindly asked us how we are feel having finally arrived. Our answer is that we feel SO grateful!
Our hearts echo the joyful shout of the king of Psalm 118 for a God who is so good to us as his people. Later on in the Psalm the king says he will ‘recount the deeds of the LORD’. And I want to follow his lead and recount just some of the many things for which we are personally so thankful to God at this time:
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We are so thankful to him for providentially bringing us to you from the other side of the world and through many humanly insurmountable hurdles.
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We are so thankful for the way you as a church family have prayed for us, patiently waited for us and now lovingly cared for us as we have arrived.
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We are so thankful for the Lord’s incredibly generous provision through you all of a wonderful house to live in.
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We are so thankful for the privilege of coming to a church that we know and is already dear to our hearts.
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We are so thankful to join brothers and sisters who love the Lord Jesus, are hungry to know him from his living word and eager to make him known to a desperate world around.
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We are so thankful to God for the remarkable ministry of Simon and Kathy for 30 years that he used to make St Thomas’ the special church it is today.
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We are so thankful to God for his wise provision of John and Moya as just the right people to lead us through the past 20 months.
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We are so thankful for the staff team who have served so tirelessly before my arrival and who have welcomed me so warmly since I have begun.
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We are so thankful for the very great opportunities that exist for us as a church in the future to bring glory to Jesus by together proclaiming him and seeing his kingdom surge forward here in Sydney, Australia and beyond
We cannot wait to see more of you in person. We are so excited by what lies ahead.
Your brother in Christ,
Mickey Mantle