On Rogation Sunday, 9 May 2021, the Chaplain made the following announcement at the end of the service:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
There is no easy way to say this.
Last Monday (3 May), I spoke with Bishop Robert and offered my resignation as Chaplain of Utrecht Chaplaincy as of 31st of August this year. The Bishop has accepted my resignation, and I have informed the wardens prior to speaking with you today.
This has been a very difficult decision to make and comes after much prayer. It is difficult because as I have come to know you, I have come to love you, and there is much I love about my life here as Chaplain. To leave you and this place will not be easy for me and for Daniëlle.
I have made this decision because I believe I need, and that God is leading me to take, some time off full time ministry, for reflection and refreshment and for private study and to do some writing. I will take a one year sabbatical, part of which will be to discern where and to what God is calling me to next.
Daniëlle will continue to work at the Vrije Universiteit and so we plan to live in Amsterdam or, more likely, somewhere in commuting distance. The Bishop has agreed to give me Permission to Officiate, so I will assist some Sundays in churches in the Netherlands needing a locum priest.
God has been faithful to the congregations in this Chaplaincy in the past and we believe He will provide a faithful chaplain in future: to be an Anglican witness to the love of Christ in Utrecht and Zwolle, to grow your love for one another as communities, and to develop the mission in these places, in the post-corona time of renewal.
The Archdeacon will be in contact with the Wardens to explain the next steps in the selection process for the next chaplain.
I feel a deep gratitude to you all for my time here – for your support, for your friendship, which does not end, for the many ways you have shown your love and revealed to me the Gospel of our Lord.
Daniëlle and I look forward to these next few months of worship and fellowship with you.
In the love of Christ,
David