SUNDAY, September 15, was my last service in Crediton, and it was an emotional farewell to my time here in this town.

It was in 2020 when I was asked to consider serving my curacy in Crediton; I didn’t know anything about the town, and I couldn’t even find it on a map, but from speaking with various people including the Rector, Rev Matthew Tregenza, it was felt Crediton was the place for me.

I fell in love with the town, the area and the people on my first visit.

Crediton is an amazing place, and I feel honoured to have served for the last three years as Curate.

Thank you for having me and enabling me to grow into the priest I am today. 

On Sunday, we celebrated Holy Cross’s patronal festival, the nearest thing we have to a birthday as a church.

I spoke about the Cross, and how it unites us, enabling us to subvert power structures within society.

This is what Jesus did by dying on the cross – he changed the world. 

Jesus took the most gruesome method of death and transformed it into the method of salvation for us.

The Cross was used by the Romans to demonstrate their power and their ability to maintain law and order and if you threatened that you would be severely treated.

The Cross was the ultimate propaganda technique the Romans had in getting their message across, breeding fear and oppression, with people afraid to attempt any uprising. That was until Jesus came along. 

Jesus throughout his life and ministry challenged societal norms by healing on the Sabbath, by simplifying reams and reams of complex Law into two easily remembered sentences “Love God with all that you are”, and “Love your neighbour as yourself”; provoking the religious hierarchy enough to want Jesus removed.

Then Jesus raised a man from death to life – resulting in the hierarchy wanting Jesus dead, in the most public way – Crucifixion.

Jesus humbly went to his death, subverting it in the process. Through his death and resurrection on Easter Day, Jesus enabled us to have eternal life. He removed the consequence of sin – death – from us. 

By coming to the resurrected Jesus, we receive eternal life.

Through this eternal life, we are invited to continue subverting the processes, procedures and cultures we find ourselves and others in; we do this so everyone can live in a world that is more equal, fairer and just. But how do we do this?

Through volunteering with charitable groups that seek to do just that – the Foodbank, Rotary, Lions and the like; advocating for those who are unable to themselves and much more. 

The cross invites us to take risks on people and places knowing that God has got us safe in his care, so how might we use that safety to take a risk which subverts the world?

It has been the privilege of my lifetime to serve as curate in Crediton.

I have loved my time here and will miss you all. Thank you. Lewis. 

Rev Lewis Eden