New reverend licensed at St John's Church in Spitalgate as church reopens
The licensing of the new reverend at St John's Church, Spitalgate, took place at the weekend as the church reopened its doors.
A service was held on Sunday, September 4, to license Rev Clay Roundtree as an associate priest at the church.
This is the first step in the beginning of a new chapter for the church, as it has been closed for worship since the start of the pandemic.
Rev Clay said: "I'm so excited to be an associate priest licensed to work within St John's Spitalgate and having regular worship there once again.
"The Archdeacon of Boston led the service and we had bible readings, with some people from St Wulfram's and some people from St Anne's.
"It symbolically showed there was a mutual working, and that we're trying to work across parish boundaries."
During the pandemic, the church was used as a community hub to help struggling families and individuals.
After conversations took place between the Parochial Church Councils of St Wulfram's and the Trinity Parish, alongside support from the Bishop of Grantham and Archdeacon of Boston, they decided the church would open its doors again to the public.
As Rev Roundtree is now licensed for St John's, this gives him the responsibility to minister people in this part of Grantham in events such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.
He added: "I'm really conscious when people step off the train into Grantham and this is one of the first things they see.
"It is a proper landmark and I want it to be a sign of welcome."
Helen Winter and the Winter Singers performed at the service, alongside men from the St Wulfram's male choir and approximately 150 people attended.
Now that the church is open again, Rev Clay has many hopes for its future.
He concluded: "This is the place of a real community hub. I am hoping to work with people across Grantham, encouraging them to use St John's as a centre for Christian meditation and mindfulness, and this extends to work amongst school children.
"Building relationships with local residents is very important to me, as well as finding funding for the work we hope to do in the future, which will include having the hall open through the winter as a 'warm hub' for local people."