Say hello the the Rev. Matt Way. Matt has been the Vicar at St. Luke’s Church for 2 years having come from London where he served in various roles for 15 years. Though Matt and his wife Esther loved their community in London, increasingly they longed to show their three small children life beyond the grind. So they began to search for other opportunities. Clergy in the Church of England can apply for positions within an ecclesiastical job market. Matt spotted an opportunity in Cornwall and scheduled a visit to explore more. However, as they were preparing to travel down he noted an opportunity had just become available in Bath. They decided to call in en route and were immediately charmed by St. Luke’s and the area; it just felt right. It didn’t hurt that it was a beautiful May morning when our City glowed with golden light What’s more, the Cornish opportunity really didn’t feel right for him, so he applied to St. Luke’s and was accepted. In the following appointment process he became more and more convinced that this was absolutely where he and his family needed to be. Looking back he doesn’t know what they would have done if he had not been appointed, so it was just as well that he was! Matt was born in the Lake District. His parents were new to Christianity and were in the process of rejigging their lives around their new faith. At the age of 5 Matt’s parents felt a call into missionary work and the family left the Lakes to spend their time between the midlands and Eastern Europe, training and equipping teams to work in places of humanitarian need. This childhood experience shaped Matt’s understanding of vocation. As he saw his parents grapple with what they had to offer to the world, he developed a belief that each of us possesses a gift for healing all things, and that our life's work is to find out where our contribution best fits. And that when one recognises one’s own power, pathway, pattern and calling following it is the only logical next step. Assisting people as they discover their own callings brings Matt the most fulfilment in his current role at St. Luke’s, where he helps the community explore what gifts they have been invited to bring to the world. This sense of a divine pattern re-emerged while Matt was on a retreat along the Camino de Santiago when he learned the concept of Sacred Geometry. Sacred Geometry ascribes symbolic and sacred meanings to certain geometric shapes and proportions. In Christianity it is the traditional use of specific numbers, mathematical ratios and geometric shapes in art & architecture to symbolise God; the orderly creator of the universe. On his return Matt discussed his discovery with his parents who disclosed his Great,Great… Grandfather was a Sacred Geometer who designed the stained glass windows in churches, not so far from where he finds himself now, in Frome. Matt tells me, that within a Christian framework, true fulfilment (sometimes described as salvation) comes from the healing and wholeness of all things together. Where the things that are ruptured and broken are restored. He finds satisfaction through helping his community discover this re-connection for themselves, specifically in four areas: with neighbours, God, the planet and themselves; a philosophy which is known as the Shalom Framework. Matt’s approach to his role is to take part in this re-connecting work by creating an open and welcoming community at St. Luke’s- literally making space for us to meet, know, and be better connected to our community. Hence the many secular activities the church now provides: Coffee Mornings, a Lunch Club, Family Fireworks, Slip & Slides, this Summer’s Jazz in the Gardens. Alongside these the Matt is helping the church to develop spaces in which faith and spiritual reconnection with self and God can be explored without judgment. One example is St Luke’s new event: Church of the Wild where, on the second Sunday of each month at 3pm, people are invited to gather in the church gardens, in the belief that one of the ways God longs to meet us is though the natural world. Matt feels that these events serve as a foundation for deeper spiritual exploration, foster connections within the community and reconnection with society. Matt does not do this work alone. There is a small team of paid staff including Serena Stanton, the Children and Families Minister, and more recently, Ingrid Barnsley, who is a Priest in training; as well as a whole host of volunteers. Rather amazingly, in a congregation of 125 people fully 90 serve as regular volunteers! Matt and his family have found joy and peace in Bath. The children are all settled at St. Phillip’s School, there is great love and support for them within the church community and, for the first time in his life Matt has learned to say “no” now and again! With the free time clawed back, Matt turns his hand to all kinds of art. He doesn’t consider himself a natural, referring to himself as a “try-hard artist”, but he loves the creative process. So if you are out walking in the vicinity of Hatfield Road and spot Matt please say “Hello” to One Amazing Neighbour!