Sink or Swim, Madam?

You know that feeling you get when you're chucked in at the deep end and you know it's a case of sink or swim?

I'm pleased to say I swam!

And judging by the encouraging remarks from the vicar, I swam rather well.

Week 1 of my 8 week placement at the parish church of Loughborough, All Saints with Holy Trinity began in earnest yesterday.

A quiet 9.00am Holy Communion service started the day, my duties included reading the Gospel and serving Communion.

Performing these duties regularly in my own church gives me the confidence to go to another church (whose ways and customs differ) and fit in with their own style of worship. Nods and gestures from the vicar guided me along the way and by the end of the service I felt comfortable and confident.

A baptism followed and the church packed out quite considerably. I assisted the vicar during the baptism and in the evening at Parish Communion, took on (with short notice) the role of an absent leader, when I was originally only to observe (more notches on the church leadership belt!)

I came home with a sense of real fulfilment and joy. It was a long and busy day which I enjoyed immensely. I feel I managed quite well, I didn't get flummoxed and I feel that my work was fairly free flowing and competent.

Week 2 will include introducing the confession, reading the Creed and in the evening, preaching.

Daunting as this might seem in a new, and much bigger church with higher congregational numbers, I'm looking forward to it here. I feel very blessed to have the confidence to stand up in front of a packed church, step up to the pulpit and preach. Any nerves I might feel always seem to disappear just at the right moment whenever I do preach. God has blessed me with this gift of communication for a reason, and that is, I believe, to bring God to the people and the people to God.

Looking forward to my placement.

The agenda for my church placement reads like a bit like a shopping list, and I suppose it is in a way - the shopping list of the duties of an ordinand, which I hope to be by the end of this year (an ordinand is someone who is undergoing formal ministry & theology training) as what I am going through right now is my informal training.

Of course there is no guarantee that a candidate for ordination will be recommended for formal training when they have completed their BAP (Bishop's Advisory Panel) but at the very least one can go into this sort of thing with good, solid informal training under their belt (which I am currently undergoing), a good backgrounding in Theology (as I am doing with my JiF and St John's college courses), the necessary people skills, personal strength and character required of a minister (which I believe I possess) and of course, Gods good grace and blessings (which I also believe I have).

After that, it's up to the bishop's advisors to decide if I have 'the right stuff'.

So what was originally a placement during February and March has now also turned into February, March & April, by request, as I'd really like to get some ministry experience around Easter time in, especially as this church holds many diverse services around this time of the year that other churches don't, including weekday services and I think this will be extremely good for me.

So on 19th February, I begin.

A new chapter in my lay ministry is beginning, and I'm ready, willing and hopefully able!