Category Archives: ministry

update … the black bird is back

Posted on by
1

The Blackbird is back sitting on her nest and being the dutiful mother once again.
Sadly, the likelihood is that as she was away for the best part of the day the eggs have probably died. The cruelness of nature once again!

But maybe there is a metaphor for ministry here too.

Sometimes people, or leaders, go through the motions and seem to do all the right things and yet they could be wasting their time because they are doing it too late, or inappropriately etc etc.

The blackbirds are doing what is instinctively right for them to do – but their ‘mistake’ (for sake of a better term) was to allow themselves to be scared off by the magpie. If they had stayed sat on the nest they could still be sitting on live eggs. They got scared, lost focus and disappeared only later to come back when it was seen to be safe.

Sometimes to come back when it is safe is already too late. There is something powerful about standing in painful situations with others rather than retreating. There is something necessary about ministry, developing a new transformational life, that inevitably brings pain and needs a stand to be made.

I guess we need discernment to know when to run and when to stand – but I can’t help but think too much running occurs when a stand should be made.

waking up

Posted on by
Reply


Monday is usually an admin day for me, but today I was looking forward to catching up with Ian – but that plan failed as all 3 of my children have had some stomach bug over the weekend which has meant no school today for any of them and so needing to stay home as Sarah had a presentation she needed to do throughout the day.

This has meant as well as working I have been able to sue the time for some long needed reflection. I always plan to have quiet in the day and week but, to be honest, I love my job so much that when I get my teeth into something hours seem to fly past and the empty quiet house is packed full and noisy again.

Today the children have been quiet and so I have been able to re-connect with God in quiet which I have failed to do fopr some time. This afternoon I particularly found the words of Gregory of Nazianzus that are said over the Easter Season in Common Worships Prayer during the day (what a very good Anglican I am becoming!):

Yesterday I was crucified with Christ;
today I am glorified with him.
Yesterday I was dead with Christ;
today I am sharing in his resurrection.
Yesterrday I was buried with him;
today I am waking with him from the sleep of death.

As I said the last line of that liturgy I felt the words to be describing my feelings. I reflected on how I have become embroiled in stuff, particularly in study stuff, or post ordination stuff, as its quite prominent at the moment. Today i felt God remind me what it is all about.

It’s all about a risen kingdom life with Jesus: all equal no matter what they achieve, all accepted no matter what their brand of Christian theology, all valued no matter where they stand in society, all created by the one true God.

It’s all about life with Jesus!

calling….

Posted on by
Reply

The letionary today remembers St Thomas Aquinas, who was a pretty cool bloke setting a great example to commitment to vocation – despite being locked up by his parents and various tricks played such as having a ‘temptress’ thrown into his cell to attempt to cause him to deny his calling. It makes fascinating reading!

This story today has challenged me in my commitment to my calling.

In the Anglican church one of the canticles that could be read this morning was A Song of the Word for the Lord which is based on Isaiah 55, which has always been a special chapter in the Bible for me and one that I needed reminding of in my current mind state. It speaks of God’s thoughts being different and not necessarily making a lot of sense at the the time. But more than this, Is. 55 states clearly that God’s thoughts are higher – they may not make a lot of sense but they are higher,or purer and sounder, than my thoughts could ever be.

A key verse is:

Return to the Lord who will have mercy
to our God who will richly pardon.

Today we have an opportunity to let people know that they can return to a God who has mercy and accepts (which I believe is what I am called to do) – how come too often we are able to portray a God who judges and rejects?

dress time

Posted on by
1

I had the pleasure of leading worship at St. Mary Magdalene in Gillingham this morning.

The service was more structured and more liturgical than what I am used to, but the structure seemed to allow God to work in a way that I was not expecting. It was a refreshing experience.

It’s always quite nerve wracking leading worship in a new place. Today this was made more nervy as this service required me to borrow some robes (thanks Ernie!) and for the first time I led a service ‘robed’. This felt like quite an odd experience, although not as odd or as uncomfortable as I had thought it would be.

For the last few years while training, robing has been a bit of an issue for me. As I have been ministering for quite a while I feel quite strongly about identifying with those that I am working with, rather than giving myself a title and dressing differently to imply some form of superiority. There is, however, something about hiding ourselves to allow people to worship.

A while ago in discussion with Suzanne, the priest of St Mary’s, she spoke of symbolically ‘putting on God’ as she robed. I held this in my mind as I robed up this morning. As I was praying about putting on the armour of God and preparing myself for worship while placing the robes on it proved to be quite a powerful experience.

It was an interesting experience which has left me with yet more things to mull over.

For now, however, its great to be able to tick off a SEITE task …. only another 14 assignments to go!

13 and out …

Posted on by
Reply

I have just returned from my 13th YFC staff conference which I think has been one of the best I’ve attended.

We were fortunate and blessed with some great teachers such as Ajith Fernando who has been national director of Sri Lanka YFC since 1976. Being a 42 year old who started secondary school in 1976, that level of faithfulness and commitment to a role struck me as being quite special.

Ajith was topped in my mind, however, by Paula Gooder who was only with us for 24 hours but had a refreshing way of unearthing greatt stuff from the bible. I could have listened to Paula for hours and was enthralled and challenged by what she brought out of the passage.

As always for me, though, Staff Conference is about the people. Conversations both with friends of long standing and new friends were great times and on one particular occasion while ‘sharing icons’ and chatting about ‘stuff’ that matters I lost track of time and did not get to bed until nearly 2am!

Highlights are too many to list (this entry would be very long!) but here is a feeble attempt:
chats in the sauna with various groups of people
drinking at the bar with the London possy and the South west crew
enjoying the company of the ‘Chislehurst massive’ and their sense of humour
that late night iconic conversation in the bar with Helen
coffee with Lucy
hearing dreams of others in their locations
various mealtime conversations with great people
the major highlight was simply spending time with so many wonderful YFC people who have become friends at some stage over the last 13/14 years.

For once there is a lowlight.
The 13th staff conference will be my last as I start a new ‘ordained’ role in September. As I even type those words of leaving YFC it produces tears in my eyes. It is not often that you get to live your dreams but that is what I have experienced over the last 14 years, and particularly in the last 3/4 years when I have quite seriously had the best job in the world working with ‘national’. I sit back and have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude with a strong sense of the sheer privilege it has been to be part of something so dynamic while serving very special people in their mission roles. I hope the next 6/7 months go quite slowly!

I shared on the last morning where ordination seems to be taking me in a pioneering/fresh expressions setting. It is an exciting opportunity on which I will write more later. For now, however, I need to get my head around leaving what I believe to be the best Christian youth agency in the country, probably the world. In many ways it is still a step that I don’t want to take, but I think (and hope) that I am right in believing that it’s a step that God wants me to take. My prayer is that this is a God idea and not simply a good idea.

So 14 years …. a large part of my life, and over half of my life in ‘ministry’ is all about to change. I look forward with a healthy and natural mix of fear, excitement and sadness with a hope that I will manage to stay close to at least some of those wonderful friends of the last 13 years.

new dreams new beginnings

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday I met up with two people who have left friends and a known way of working to take up a new challenge.

In the morning it was great to catch up with Luella whom YFC and the Warham Trust have appointed to develop a Basingstoke YFC. (If you live in the area and want to help – why not get in touch with Luella). Luella has a dream for the centre and I believe this will develop pretty quickly.

In the evening I attended the induction of Jim Findlay as priest in charge of St. Mark’s Salisbury. This was a great occasion and a case of another, very different person, who has a dream and another person who will see his dream fulfilled.

While driving home from Salisbury last night I reflected upon my day and realised that Luella and Jim are very different – a young female YFC worker and an ageing married Anglican priest. And yet … they are united in that they realise the call to mission and minsisty involves sacrifice.

Yes, mission is exciting, a privilege, a great buzz – but there is a cost, there is a burden to bear which we do not talk about enough. In our society where people are out to get what they can as quickly as they can, the language of sacrifice is unpopular. The pain of leaving friends, of isolation, of being misunderstood, of responding to peoples hidden and sometimes subconscious agendas all take their toll and cause anguish, heartache and questioning.

Two people, leaving loved ones, places they have called home, to walk into the unknown, where they have to start again, prove themselves and cry out to God for guidance. They are not alone, as there are many others in Christian ministry both past and present who have or are walking the road they are walking.

Is this what Jesus meant when he spoke of taking up our cross to follow him? I think it may be part of the answer!

people and meetings

Posted on by
Reply

The last 2 days have been great days for meeting with people.
I have met with chair people of YFC trustee bodies.
I have drunk coffee with directors if YFC centres.
I have chatted ideas with diocesan staff.

The great thing about all these conversations is that, although essentially they are based around work, they also double up as conversations about the Kingdom with friends.

After each meeting I have come away inspired, or challenged, or saddened, or confused – all emotions that upset my normal equilbrium in some way or another. Although that is not always easy – I welcome that upset as through it we are able to grow, progress, move on and achieve different things.

Life is about growth – and without upsetting the norm, growth does not really happen!

Job or Ministry

Posted on by
2

I like to be challenged and reminded of why I came into ministry.
Too often today, and I think particularly in the youth ministry world, we can easily get sucked into the world of professionalism and the job / ‘contracted’ to do mindset.
That is not necessarily a bad thing – unless it becomes our God. By that I mean we always look to our contract, we alsways look to our interests, we always claim our rights.
I don’t have a job, in fact if I look back over my years of work, I’m not sure that I have ever had a job as I think I can say I have always been ministering where God has called me to be and I have always seen my calling as a ministry and not a job.
Sometimes, however, I have become whingey and acted like I’ve had a job when I have lost sight of my true calling!
Today Gordon’s writing challenged me and reminded me and encouraged me all at th same time. Gordon’s article on Job or Ministry is well worth a read.
Thanks Gordon.

my Taunton Trip

Posted on by
Reply

I had a great two journeys today to Taunton and back. I arrived in Taunton at about 8.45 am which gave me time for a leisurely walk to wake up before attacking a Wetherspoons breakfast. Great breakfast – although I had a bit of a shock – there were around 20 people in at 9.00am and I was the only one not drinking alcohol!!!! I was also the only one eating! I’ve had breakfast a few times in Wetherspoons and the odd person is drinking – obviously Taunton is a place for hardened morning drinkers! In a way I found it quite sad … but then realised I was falling into the judgement trap as who am I to judge a certain set of behaviours?

The meetings in Taunton were good. It was good to spend some time with Lucy from Taunton YFC, James from Bath YFC and meet Paul from SWYM. It was a good time of sharing and hearing what each other is up to and wondering about how we can work together for the Kingdom. No easy answers – but good to get together to think about it.

Afterwards I had a good management meeting with Richard as we looked to the future before travelling home – all in all a great day. I feel energised today because i have been with people, thinking on my feet, asking questions, sharing, challenging, encouraging …. so much better than paper work!

who’s insane?

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been quiet here for a few days – a consequence of having too many assignments to do in a short space of time, combined with being busy dealing with ‘stuff’ ad mission proposals and retreats in YFC centres! It’s an insane time!

That’s not at all a complaint, as I love it when I am busy. I love it when I am under pressure to perform and meet deadlines. I love having to think on my feet and troubleshoot. It does, however, seem to zap energy and I have not had the energy needed to think about writing something here.

It would be wrong to share too much work stuff, but for assignments I have had to write a funeral for a sudden death of a youngish mum of 3 children, which was a real challenge, and justify why I did what I did; reflect on what I have learnt from this years preaching module (I must confess not a lot!), reflect on a conversation I have had with one person, and currently I am working on planning as session for women on stress as part of a Lent course and write an essay on what social psychology can teach us about hoe people act in congregations. The deadline for these last 2 is next Monday … 6 days which I was relaxed about – until I realised we have our last training weekend this weekend! So effectively 4 days for 2 assignment … woohoo! I think I may go insane …

I think I love being busy as the buzz means I do not have to question too much what is going on, instead I have to get on and do things as there are things that desperately need doing.

In my daily office, the Northumbria Community are looking at the desert others and fathers over this month, and there have been some great thoughts that I have taken into the day. I particularly loved this:

Abba Anthony said:

‘The time is coming when people will be insane, and when they see someone who is not insane they will attack that person, saying: ‘You are insane, because you are not like us.”

So … is it me, you, or have we all lost it?!