Methodist ministers in Gloucestershire are moving on to pastures new after serving a combined total of more than 90 years in the community.
There will be several changes this month in parishes across the county that will signal the end of an era.
A special service to make their years of work will be held at Ashcroft Church, Cirencester at 6.30pm on Sunday, July 13.
Replacements for the departing ministers will be announced after this week's Methodist Conference meeting in Birmingham.
Reverend Noel Sharp was ordained in Blackpool 20 years ago, and arrived at Hucclecote Gloucester in 2008 after serving in Walsall and Redditch. Noel is continuing his part-time role as the Christian Aid Coordinator for Gloucestershire. He is also taking time out for additional study. Mr Sharp and his family will move and stay in Gloucestershire.
Following two years of training at Queen's College Birmingham, the Reverend Philip Morse was Ordained in 1990 at Caerphilly. Having served in five previous areas Philip moved to Gloucester in 2010 taking charge of Northgate, Lonsdale Road and Barton Street Methodist Churches.
Philip said: "Retirement will bring many important opportunities. The first is to baptise my fourth granddaughter in Cambridge in August."
During the past five years the Reverend Hilary Ewing, a former teacher of German, has been in pastoral charge of Bethesda in Great Norwood Street, Cheltenham and Hawling Methodist Churches.
Hilary is moving to neighbouring Oxfordshire where she plans to continue preaching.
She said: "I hope to have more time to read and to be involved in the healing ministry. My daughter is getting married in October and around the same date my daughter in law and son, who already have a two year old, are expecting twins, so I don't think it will be completely quiet."
Ordained at Newmarket 15 years ago during the annual Methodist Conference in Ipswich, the Reverend Carrie Seaton has spent all of her ministry in Gloucestershire.
Since 2010, she has been minister at Ashcroft Church Cirencester and North Cerney Methodist Church and now plans to catch up on those things she hasn't had time for.
Carrie has also looked after St. John's Northgate, Lonsdale Road and Barton Street Methodist Churches in Gloucester.
She said: "I'm looking forward to cooking, sewing, catching up with friends, and getting a bike. I will also be resuming family history research which I began a few years ago."
Previously spending 23 years as a nuclear physicist at Berkeley Laboratories the Reverend Dr John Emmett was Ordained in Scarborough in 1998.
He arrived in Gloucestershire in 2011 to take charge of Cam, Dursley and Wotton under Edge churches.
John aims to continue his various interests working on home and garden, walking, travelling, especially by train to football matches and continuing to develop his model railway as well as a writing project.
