Storms of life

While the uk has been battered by floods, winds and waves, our church life also feels battered.

The situation is much as it was some years ago when we first left the church.  Everything that my wife does, every initiative that she leads, is crushed, while lesser people are promoted and praised.  Wee don't resent their success: its not their fault that they have the vicars kind eye.  But he dislikes my wife, so matter what she shoes for the Lord in the church, he finds a way to demoralise her.  He closes her opportunities to speak, while allowing others to say what they want.  Where she does loads of work for the poor, someone else is appointed 'social action leader' having visited one tramp in hospital.  And when he can't deny that my wifes initiative is a good one, he places it under the leadership of a less experienced man rather than letting her lead her own initiatives.

A large part of us wants to just jack it in and leave again.  Either angrily like last time with lots of letters and shouting matches, or just slip away quietly.

But our children are still flourishing in the church and we don't want to disrupt them again.

Also, it would be unrighteous.

Also, we believe we are called to ordination, and the diocese is hardly likely to agree if we keep church-hopping.

So we must grit our teeth.  but it is hard for mrs to flourish in a church where the vicar hates her.  And it is hard for me to serve with sure respect as a Reader under the leadership of a man who hates my wife and whose every action inflicts further psychological harm on her.  If he literally kicked her in the face he would be arrested and put in prison.  I'm not sure why the mental damage he is doing should be treated any less severely.

We trust that we are called by God to ordination, and that one day the vicar will see her in her robes and black scarf, being ordained by his boss the bishop, and that her will eat his hat and finally acknowledge that she is a true and effective minister of God.