A MUCH-LOVED vicar has bid a final fond farewell to his parishioners after giving his last service.
The Reverend Martin Wright has led St Mark's Church in Reigate for the past eight years.
The popular clergyman, who served as a teacher and later a head teacher before taking on his calling, said his final day on April 28 had been extremely emotional.
Though looking forward to moving to Guildford to be nearer his eldest son, he said he was sorry to be saying goodbye to the community which has built up during his time at the church.
"The last service on Sunday morning was fantastic.
"It was very crowded. There was some sadness as well as lots of excitement and we had coffee and cakes afterwards to say our goodbyes to our congregation.
"The main event was on the Saturday, the day before, which was the farewell afternoon. We had a service at 3pm with well over 300 people in attendance – including 50 or 60 children – and this was followed by refreshments in the hall.
"A great many of the people have become my friends too and we hope we've been able to help them to be part of this community, regardless of their age or background.
"We had lots of presents given to us, some of which were lovely mementoes. I haven't been able to look through them all yet and it's so moving and emotional."
Among the gifts was a message book signed by dozens of parishioners, a picture book of cards signed by pupils from local schools, and a painting of the church.
Grandfather-of-four the Rev Wright, 65, whose church experience began at the age of six when he was in a choir, said he has many highlights to look back on during his time in the parish.
He said: "One of the most heartening things of my time here has been the development of the worship and the increase in numbers in the congregation, including more families with young people and children, as well as visiting the elderly and infirm in the homes around the parish.
"There has been a great deal of involvement in the schools in the parish, with me taking assemblies and welcoming the schoolchildren and their teachers to St Mark's for services at harvest, Christmas and Easter as well as showing them round the church as part of their studies."
He added that an after-school service called Tea Time Tales, which has been running for seven years, has proved a major success with regular groups of 40 to 50 children attending with 20 adults.
The Rev Wright said that after making the move to Guildford with his wife Geraldine he plans to take some time off with his family before getting back into community work in his new area.
