Today I had my prayer session with my Vicar and assistant minister regarding my employment situation. They did pray, and well, on this topic, but also took the opportunity to press a bit more on the idea of me training for ordination.
I put to them my previous analysis, that on a fair assessment of my skills I don't really have it.
They said nobody has all the skills at the start of the training programme God does sometimes come through the mouth of a man rather than through gooey feelings.
So I agreed to think about it.
Came home to tell Mrs, but found the house empty. She was out on a walk. Pondering and meditating. And quite independantly of my conversation with the vicar this morning, thoughts came into her head that the idea of me as a vicar wasn't quite as daft as she first thought.
So when I told her about my meeting, her mind was very open to the possibility.
So after much talk and weighing of evidence we concluded that we have now heard from God, and we seek confirmation of this by Him now giving me work to keep as afloat financially while the training (if I do go for it) takes place.
This also fits with her own lack of direction over the years and the idea that being a Vicar's wife might give er more of a sense of purpose. We also discussed ideas such as her training for Readership. It's all exciting stuff.
One of the main obstacles to all this in the ast ahs been the children's schooling, but in the timescale we are talking about most of them will be leaving school by the time ordination and posting to some remote parish takes place.
So, watch this space?
Signed Rev SaintSimon????
Showing posts with label vicar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vicar. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22
Tuesday, April 14
Me, a Vicar?
My good Friday talk went well.
Then we joined other churches for a 'Walk of Witness' (nearly a walk of wetness but the rain held off) into the town centre, for a joint open air service outside the townhall. I was asked to do the Isaiah 53 reading. I tried my best, with natural expression, and it seemed to go down well.
Afterwards, my Vicar called me aside and asked if I had ever considered entering the minsitry (ie become a vicar). "a man with your skills.." he says.
Well if the Church of England wants a 'man of my skills' as a Vicar, then it must be pretty desperate.
Lets see now, how do I score?
Then we joined other churches for a 'Walk of Witness' (nearly a walk of wetness but the rain held off) into the town centre, for a joint open air service outside the townhall. I was asked to do the Isaiah 53 reading. I tried my best, with natural expression, and it seemed to go down well.
Afterwards, my Vicar called me aside and asked if I had ever considered entering the minsitry (ie become a vicar). "a man with your skills.." he says.
Well if the Church of England wants a 'man of my skills' as a Vicar, then it must be pretty desperate.
Lets see now, how do I score?
- Preaching/teaching 5/5
- leading services 4/5
- faith 3/5
- prophetic gifting 2/5
- healing gift 0/5
- pastoral skills 1/5
- polictical savvy 0/5
- personal holiness 3/5
- strategy and vision 0/5
- natural leader 0/5
total 18/50
Which puts me ahead of many, I suppose. But seriously, I don't think I have what it takes. I don't want to do a Saul hiding in the baggage job, small in my own eyes, but on a fair assesment, I don't think its me.
Plus, I can't put the time aside for training, and can't feed a family of 7 kids either during training or on a vicar's stipend.
But if you have a word from the Lord directing me otherwise, let me know.
Monday, February 25
Vicar interferes with sermon again
Well, my latest sermon, based on “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell, seems to have gone down well. This despite the Vicar doing his usual act of interfering and asking me to do things differently form what I had planned. Fortunately I am used to him doing this now, and almost expect it. And to be fair, it is usually an improvement. But it does rile me that he does not implement his recommendations in his own sermons.
My son was on the PA system that night, and resisted all urges to turn me off.
My sermon was primarily about spiritual maturity, not getting dogmatic about things but being able to stretch ones faith and work with people who disagree rather than building exclusive doctrinal walls. Since it was a communion service, I was going to ask people as a practical exercise to approach the table with either a more or a less sacramental idea than they normally would. Mr Vicar extended this, by making me ask people to get up form their chairs and form groups – i.e. transubstantiation in that corner, consubstantiation over there, symbolic remembrance over here, etc. The idea was that people would then discuss these ideas, and possibly move to another group. Of course the groups comprised like-minded people, so it wasn’t 100% successful. But it made people think, and that was the main thing.
The disturbing thing is that our Vicar didn’t really seem to be aware of the range of opinion, and found this line of teaching to be quite informative. Since the Eucharist is central to Christian worship, I would like to think that an ordained minister in the Church of England has been fully trained in the theology around it.
My son was on the PA system that night, and resisted all urges to turn me off.
My sermon was primarily about spiritual maturity, not getting dogmatic about things but being able to stretch ones faith and work with people who disagree rather than building exclusive doctrinal walls. Since it was a communion service, I was going to ask people as a practical exercise to approach the table with either a more or a less sacramental idea than they normally would. Mr Vicar extended this, by making me ask people to get up form their chairs and form groups – i.e. transubstantiation in that corner, consubstantiation over there, symbolic remembrance over here, etc. The idea was that people would then discuss these ideas, and possibly move to another group. Of course the groups comprised like-minded people, so it wasn’t 100% successful. But it made people think, and that was the main thing.
The disturbing thing is that our Vicar didn’t really seem to be aware of the range of opinion, and found this line of teaching to be quite informative. Since the Eucharist is central to Christian worship, I would like to think that an ordained minister in the Church of England has been fully trained in the theology around it.
Monday, November 6
Sanctify a party
Hey, what?! – perfection! Did the second chalice this Sunday without tripping and without spilling! Had my lessons in Genuflecting. Crossed myself for the first time ever. Did the reading at the right time form the version requested.
At evening prayers, lead the liturgy with only two, unimportant, mistakes.
I might be beginning to look like an Anglo-Catholic. Except for the theology of course.
After the very formal, quiet and solemn morning communion I went back to my own church to collect the kids. The service hadn’t finished so I waited in the foyer. It was a packed family service. The whole congregation was dancing and singing. Flags were waving, and balloons were going up to the ceiling. As a continuation of the Light Party held to provide an alternative to Halloween trick or treating on 31st October, there had been an election to decide whether the Vicar or the Children’s Church leader should get gunged (for those of you who are sane/not British, gunging is when you pour brightly coloured [if you’re lucky] or smelly and slimy fluids over your victim). The Vicar was chosen, but at the very last minute someone else, dressed up as ‘Jesus’ came and took his place in the gunging booth.
Formal Liturgical Ceremony v Wild Party.
Which was the true reflection of God’s Glory? Which was true worship?
The party bunch look down on the ‘dead’ ceremony.
The ceremonialists look down on the irreverent antics of the party.
I am convinced that BOTH are essential.
God is so magnificent and infinite that unity cannot hold him. He expresses himself as trinity. When he makes man in his own image, he makes THEM, male AND female (and kids). When he made dogs, he did Alsatians, Chihuahuas, Beagles, Rottweilers, and everything in between. Can solemnity on its own communicate what He is? Can a party on its own express what He is?
“Sanctify a fast – call a solemn assembly” say the same scriptures that record how David danced before the Lord and how a wide variety of musical instruments were used in the temple.
At evening prayers, lead the liturgy with only two, unimportant, mistakes.
I might be beginning to look like an Anglo-Catholic. Except for the theology of course.
After the very formal, quiet and solemn morning communion I went back to my own church to collect the kids. The service hadn’t finished so I waited in the foyer. It was a packed family service. The whole congregation was dancing and singing. Flags were waving, and balloons were going up to the ceiling. As a continuation of the Light Party held to provide an alternative to Halloween trick or treating on 31st October, there had been an election to decide whether the Vicar or the Children’s Church leader should get gunged (for those of you who are sane/not British, gunging is when you pour brightly coloured [if you’re lucky] or smelly and slimy fluids over your victim). The Vicar was chosen, but at the very last minute someone else, dressed up as ‘Jesus’ came and took his place in the gunging booth.
Formal Liturgical Ceremony v Wild Party.
Which was the true reflection of God’s Glory? Which was true worship?
The party bunch look down on the ‘dead’ ceremony.
The ceremonialists look down on the irreverent antics of the party.
I am convinced that BOTH are essential.
God is so magnificent and infinite that unity cannot hold him. He expresses himself as trinity. When he makes man in his own image, he makes THEM, male AND female (and kids). When he made dogs, he did Alsatians, Chihuahuas, Beagles, Rottweilers, and everything in between. Can solemnity on its own communicate what He is? Can a party on its own express what He is?
“Sanctify a fast – call a solemn assembly” say the same scriptures that record how David danced before the Lord and how a wide variety of musical instruments were used in the temple.
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