By Way of Introduction Nigel Adkinson I would like to thank you all for the warm welcome I received at the Church Meeting when I came to introduce myself and share a little of my faith journey with you all. For those who were not able to be at the meeting and for the wider readership of the Link and the website, here is a little of what I shared with the Church Meeting. I am currently studying for Stipendiary Ministry with the United Reformed Church and have just completed the first year of a Foundation Degree in Mission and Ministry with Northern College at Luther King House in Manchester and a nine week summer pastorate with the congregation of Vicars Cross United Reformed Church in Chester. I have been a member of the URC for more than thirty years, the last twenty at Christ Church Port Sunlight, where I have served the church as Organist, Elder and Church Secretary. I have also represented the local church within the wider councils of the URC initially as a District Representative for Wirral District (before we changed all that) and then within Mersey Synod. I have served as a member of the Synod Executive and also as Interim Moderator at Manor Church Centre in Wallasey. I am grateful to you all at Trinity with Palm Grove for your invitation to share with you in serving our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ during my “placement time” with you. I am particularly grateful to Blair for his willingness to offer a supervisory role to me and to work with Northern College in preparing and shaping me for full time ministry.  I will be joining you from the September to the end of May next year, combining this with mid-week study at Northern College Manchester on Tuesday and Wednesday each week and for half a day a week with the Chaplaincy Team at Arrowe Park Hospital (likely to be Thursday mornings) You will see my name appearing on the Preaching Plan!! Before I began my training for ministry I worked as a Children and Families Social Worker. I live in Great Sutton and I am married to Liz, who is a Family Support Worker with Lache Primary School in Chester. We have one daughter Katy who completed a degree in Sports Science this year from John Moore’s University and is now working in Northampton. As Christians we live in exciting but challenging times for the church. We are increasingly called to witness to Christ well beyond the “walls of the church,” as we seek to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the heart of our communities. May God bless you all in the name of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I look forward to joining you. Nigel Adkinson   (Minister in Training)   Congratulations We are delighted to hear that Nigel has received the Paton College Award  This is a prize given to a student at the end of the first year. The student is selected by the college staff on the basis of a student's formational, or ministerial  development. It is not an academic prize but the prize does recognise that the student has fully engaged with all the academic aspects of the course. The final decision is made on the basis of interpersonal relationships with both staff and students and the contribution the student has made to college life. It is therefore quite an honour to receive this award as it is not just about competency but about character and the respect in which he is held.