The Gladding Family

I know the storm kept many of you home on Saturday 4/18/09, and so you did not hear the news I shared with the community. After a season of prayer and discernment since the beginning of the year, Rebecca and I have decided that our time in the community of Mercy Street is drawing to a close. In early August we will be moving back to the community in Lexington, Kentucky that sent us out to Mercy Street almost seven years ago. Speaking this out loud to the community on 4/18/09 was a difficult and emotional experience for me. It is a bitter sweet time for us – although we are looking forward to the opportunities that await us in Lexington, we are grieving the many losses we will incur as we are sent out from Mercy Street.
One of the losses will be working with and learning from Gregg. He is such a gifted and creative person, and I am looking forward to watching Mercy Street grow as a community under his pastoral leadership. With the rest of the staff, and so many of y’all, Mercy Street is in good hands. If you would like to listen to what I said Saturday, click here. And I look forward to seeing you on the Street this Saturday!

Loved you are - Sean

Hometown: Norwich, England
Family: Rebecca, Maggie (4), Seth (3)
My favorite coffee drink: Fairly traded
My favorite place on the earth: Bed
Three Movies I would watch on Repeat: Lord of the Rings Trilogy
My role at Mercy Street: I make the coffee (so my son says). Co-pastor other times
What makes me laugh: The same things that did when I was 10
My favorite television show: Doctor Who
Three Favorite Albums: Almost anything by U2, Sigur Ros, Springsteen
Best part about your role: Hearing people’s stories
If I was an animal, I would be: an endangered species
Three foods I could eat everyday: Cadbury’s Chocolate. Fish and chips. Curry.
Three books I recommend: The Challenge of Jesus – N T Wright. The Big Book of A.A. Life Together – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Websites I visit daily: www.BBC.co.uk, Facebook, friend’s blogs
Blog/Myspace/Facebook: http://thegladdings.blogspot.com & Facebook