Things went well on Thursday. We both got on well with the vicar, she (for a lady she is) wants us to go there, we want to go there, so it's pretty much a deal. We've held off a couple of days since the visit, just in case either side had second thoughts, but we didn't.
However, there are some formalities to go through yet with the local churches, the diocese and the Bishop, so I'm not yet able to go public and share details with you. If you phone me up and ask me I'll tell you, but it's not going on Facebook or this blog until we've got the official nod. It's not a million miles from Ferndown, and within spitting distance of my 'old' diocese.
It's a bit strange how quickly our perceptions change. A month ago Salisbury was 'my' diocese (and technically remains so until I finish at Ridley and they finish supporting me in June), but now a different Diocese has appeared on my internet favourites list. I still have allegiances to several past and current churches, but for the last 18 months I've never been too sure who is my vicar - now suddenly somebody has a 'my new boss/vicar' label and when I get new ideas I start making mental plans for how that might look applied to this new location.
And so you'll have to wait a bit longer to find out. But we know where we're going with enough certainty to start contacting schools and to get measured for wax jackets and green wellies. You'll have to phone my mum to find out.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Monday, 9 November 2009
Balance
There's a bit of a conflict going on in me at the moment. Trying to balance academic work with the job search is a bit of a struggle.
This Thursday me and Tash will be visiting a parish in the South-West, spending a day with the vicar and trying to work out if it:
(a) could be a good working relationship
(b) could be somewhere that we feel we could live and work
(c) is going to throw up anything unexpected
I'm trying to prepare myself by coming up with all sorts of questions that I want to ask, and trying to anticipate what is going to be asked of me. After I'd written my own list I then looked at the handy list provided by the college, which just made my list even longer. Hopefully the day won't merely consist of us each asking the questions off of pieces of paper.
And this is all distracting me from the work I need to do to keep my head above water in this terms disciplines of Doctrine and Ethics. Lots of reading to do, not only for the weekly seminars, but now also the essay deadlines loom about 6 weeks away....
This Thursday me and Tash will be visiting a parish in the South-West, spending a day with the vicar and trying to work out if it:
(a) could be a good working relationship
(b) could be somewhere that we feel we could live and work
(c) is going to throw up anything unexpected
I'm trying to prepare myself by coming up with all sorts of questions that I want to ask, and trying to anticipate what is going to be asked of me. After I'd written my own list I then looked at the handy list provided by the college, which just made my list even longer. Hopefully the day won't merely consist of us each asking the questions off of pieces of paper.
And this is all distracting me from the work I need to do to keep my head above water in this terms disciplines of Doctrine and Ethics. Lots of reading to do, not only for the weekly seminars, but now also the essay deadlines loom about 6 weeks away....
Monday, 2 November 2009
Making progress
It's interesting how you make decisions based on sketchy information and then change them when you find out more. We've been looking at the details of four different curacies over the last 2 weeks - some of which we knew little about at the point of first contact, others for which we had a full 20 page 'Parish Profile'.
As time has gone on and I've gradually got the same level of information about each one the mental priorities we've had have been constantly adjusting up and down. Two parishes that we thought we liked the sound of turns out not to be so great, one that I'd love to be in hasn't responded as yet (so I can assume that someone else has been offered that one. And the one I wasn't sure about initially is now looking very interesting and wants to talk to me more.
So now I need to arrange a date to visit a friendly vicar, to go and find out if we think we can work together and to get a feel for the area and the churches. If we both like each other, everybody will be happy. My initial phone conversation was encouraging, so let's see what happens.
As time has gone on and I've gradually got the same level of information about each one the mental priorities we've had have been constantly adjusting up and down. Two parishes that we thought we liked the sound of turns out not to be so great, one that I'd love to be in hasn't responded as yet (so I can assume that someone else has been offered that one. And the one I wasn't sure about initially is now looking very interesting and wants to talk to me more.
So now I need to arrange a date to visit a friendly vicar, to go and find out if we think we can work together and to get a feel for the area and the churches. If we both like each other, everybody will be happy. My initial phone conversation was encouraging, so let's see what happens.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Curacy News
Things are looking OK on the curacy front. I've been in touch with a friendly bishop who has some interesting places that I could look at.
You have to be related to me to find out more. Or if you're at Ridley you can believe the rumours. Or if you're a former CYFA member you'll remember our unoffical mascot.
That's all I'm going to say for now.
You have to be related to me to find out more. Or if you're at Ridley you can believe the rumours. Or if you're a former CYFA member you'll remember our unoffical mascot.
That's all I'm going to say for now.
One Year On - Remembering Mark
It's a year today since Mark Autherson died*. So when we met as a staircase group for prayers this morning I took the opportunity to remember Mark, and to offer the opportunity for people to light a candle in memory of people they have loved and lost.
I used music and pictures alongside the first part of Psalm 139, a piece of prose, and some prayers from the Anglican funeral and memorial services. I wasn't prepared for the raw emotions that would surface, and while I had warned people that it would be quiet and reflective I should also have told them to bring tissues and waterproof make-up.
I used the song 'Perfect Sacrifice' by Trent Vineyard's worship band 'Trent' (go to i-tunes, search for the song title, then buy the whole live album!). Listen to the words carefully - the song was written after the sudden death of a church member, and talks of the continuing hope that his widow had in Jesus, at a time when she could either have run from God or run to Him. Christians believe in life after death - death is just a horizon that we can't see beyond, and it's not something we need to be afraid of.
*see my entry from October 24th 2008
I used music and pictures alongside the first part of Psalm 139, a piece of prose, and some prayers from the Anglican funeral and memorial services. I wasn't prepared for the raw emotions that would surface, and while I had warned people that it would be quiet and reflective I should also have told them to bring tissues and waterproof make-up.
I used the song 'Perfect Sacrifice' by Trent Vineyard's worship band 'Trent' (go to i-tunes, search for the song title, then buy the whole live album!). Listen to the words carefully - the song was written after the sudden death of a church member, and talks of the continuing hope that his widow had in Jesus, at a time when she could either have run from God or run to Him. Christians believe in life after death - death is just a horizon that we can't see beyond, and it's not something we need to be afraid of.
*see my entry from October 24th 2008
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Deacon Blue
Deacon: It was the turn of 'C' staircase's to organise the weekly College Communion service this week. Whilst others took on the roles of music, prayer, readings and techie stuff, I chose to be deacon. Which means that I stuck on a cassock and angel wings, stood at the front and led the service, apart from the bits that I'm not yet qualified to do. All went swimmingly, it all knitted together really well, and I was floating on air for 24 hours
Blue: Then the Saturday morning post arrived, and in it was a letter from my Bishop, informing me that I have been 'Released'. This means that Salisbury Diocese (from whence I was sent) have been unable to match me and my training needs with a curacy post in a suitable Salisbury parish. So now I'm free to explore other options in any one of 43 other English dioceses. But I won't be coming back to Salisbury as a curate next year. That doesn't rule a return out after that, nor does it mean I can't go back in the meantime (for example, were any of my former youth group to want me to marry them that would be possible). But it does mean that next year might be shaped quite differently from how we had expected. And that's just completely thrown us.
Firstly, Saturday was a bit wierd. We both spent a lot of time on the phone and texting. For me it was a case of getting in touch with people who have been through the process recently or who know how this all works or who might know somebody who knows somebody who knows a friendly bishop. For Tash it was a case of leaning on her support network. It was just a constant barrage of phones, ringtones and text beeps!
Secondly, until something like this happens you don't realise how much you had been building your future on certain assumptions. I had assumed my ordination would be in Salisbury, which would have made it at the end of September, meaning we have a relatively leisurely move, set up house, start job, dawdle through the summer, get ordained. But most dioceses ordain in early July, so we could now be facing a really hectic June....
Now I start the next part of the process, but I’m not alone. I’ve just set up a photo map at college where we can see who has a job confirmed, and who hasn’t yet. At the moment there are only 5 people out of 30 who know for definite what is happening. I’m in good company with the other 25.
What happens next? I could sit back and wait, looking occasionally in the folder at college where all the vacancies are advertised – something which I have been doing casually over the last few weeks, just for practice so I can get a feel of reading about different churches and working out which ones appeal. Now I have to do that for real, and actually decide which ones do appeal, and if they still appeal when I realise where they are! Or I can be a bit more pro-active, and use my network of contacts to find out about things before they get to that folder. I’ve already done a bit of that and I’m waiting for some phone calls.
I’m afraid I’m going to have to be a bit cagey about places and churches now until I’ve got something sorted. We will have to visit places and decide whether or not we like them. It wouldn’t be fair to name somewhere and then tell you we’ve rejected it. So you’ll not know where I’ve looked, but you will know where I’ve finally settled on. Eventually.
Blue: Then the Saturday morning post arrived, and in it was a letter from my Bishop, informing me that I have been 'Released'. This means that Salisbury Diocese (from whence I was sent) have been unable to match me and my training needs with a curacy post in a suitable Salisbury parish. So now I'm free to explore other options in any one of 43 other English dioceses. But I won't be coming back to Salisbury as a curate next year. That doesn't rule a return out after that, nor does it mean I can't go back in the meantime (for example, were any of my former youth group to want me to marry them that would be possible). But it does mean that next year might be shaped quite differently from how we had expected. And that's just completely thrown us.
Firstly, Saturday was a bit wierd. We both spent a lot of time on the phone and texting. For me it was a case of getting in touch with people who have been through the process recently or who know how this all works or who might know somebody who knows somebody who knows a friendly bishop. For Tash it was a case of leaning on her support network. It was just a constant barrage of phones, ringtones and text beeps!
Secondly, until something like this happens you don't realise how much you had been building your future on certain assumptions. I had assumed my ordination would be in Salisbury, which would have made it at the end of September, meaning we have a relatively leisurely move, set up house, start job, dawdle through the summer, get ordained. But most dioceses ordain in early July, so we could now be facing a really hectic June....
Now I start the next part of the process, but I’m not alone. I’ve just set up a photo map at college where we can see who has a job confirmed, and who hasn’t yet. At the moment there are only 5 people out of 30 who know for definite what is happening. I’m in good company with the other 25.
What happens next? I could sit back and wait, looking occasionally in the folder at college where all the vacancies are advertised – something which I have been doing casually over the last few weeks, just for practice so I can get a feel of reading about different churches and working out which ones appeal. Now I have to do that for real, and actually decide which ones do appeal, and if they still appeal when I realise where they are! Or I can be a bit more pro-active, and use my network of contacts to find out about things before they get to that folder. I’ve already done a bit of that and I’m waiting for some phone calls.
I’m afraid I’m going to have to be a bit cagey about places and churches now until I’ve got something sorted. We will have to visit places and decide whether or not we like them. It wouldn’t be fair to name somewhere and then tell you we’ve rejected it. So you’ll not know where I’ve looked, but you will know where I’ve finally settled on. Eventually.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Shipwrecked and Comatose
Red Dwarf fans will recognise the cultural reference here. It's exactly how I feel.
Somewhat prophetically my Facebook status this morning was: "Stephen wants to lie shipwrecked and comatose drinking fresh mango juice". Little did I realise how accurate that was going to be.
With the lecture timetable having finally kicked in I'm now getting accustomed to the rhythm of life for the next 8 weeks. This started last Thursday - with nothing timetabled for me. Friday had a couple of hours of 'Life and Service', where we looked at the content, shape and flow of the Communion service. Then it was the weekend!!
So far so good, not too stressful, and Monday continues that theme, where it's the afternoon before I settle down for a couple of hours of 'Christian Doctrine', in which we'll examine key areas of what Christianity actually believes. And that's where the fun stops.
Tuesdays are going to be my worst day, where I have a bit of every single module. Ethics, followed by double Gospel and Western Culture, followed by a Doctrine seminar, followed by Life and Service. There are breaks and lunch built in there somewhere, but during the afternoon sessions I was observed by my companions being comatose for short periods. It probably didn't help that in Doctrine we were talking about a particularly difficult passage by Archbishop Rowan Williams which very few of us had been able to make any sense of - thankfully the lecturers were struggling with it as much as us.
This evening I've been preparing the service for this week's College Communion where I'm helping lead the service. It's kept me out of trouble, as I sit on the sofa whilst Tash watches a film - the film seemed to fly past in five minutes as I grappled with the various liturgical options available to me....
Wednesdays look like they're going to be interesting - Gospel and Western Culture seminars and Double Ethics!
Somewhat prophetically my Facebook status this morning was: "Stephen wants to lie shipwrecked and comatose drinking fresh mango juice". Little did I realise how accurate that was going to be.
With the lecture timetable having finally kicked in I'm now getting accustomed to the rhythm of life for the next 8 weeks. This started last Thursday - with nothing timetabled for me. Friday had a couple of hours of 'Life and Service', where we looked at the content, shape and flow of the Communion service. Then it was the weekend!!
So far so good, not too stressful, and Monday continues that theme, where it's the afternoon before I settle down for a couple of hours of 'Christian Doctrine', in which we'll examine key areas of what Christianity actually believes. And that's where the fun stops.
Tuesdays are going to be my worst day, where I have a bit of every single module. Ethics, followed by double Gospel and Western Culture, followed by a Doctrine seminar, followed by Life and Service. There are breaks and lunch built in there somewhere, but during the afternoon sessions I was observed by my companions being comatose for short periods. It probably didn't help that in Doctrine we were talking about a particularly difficult passage by Archbishop Rowan Williams which very few of us had been able to make any sense of - thankfully the lecturers were struggling with it as much as us.
This evening I've been preparing the service for this week's College Communion where I'm helping lead the service. It's kept me out of trouble, as I sit on the sofa whilst Tash watches a film - the film seemed to fly past in five minutes as I grappled with the various liturgical options available to me....
Wednesdays look like they're going to be interesting - Gospel and Western Culture seminars and Double Ethics!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
