Third Year Ramblings

The Curacy Cafe's days are numbered.  It has been three years, and hopefully, at some stage over the next six months, I will be moving out of the assistant curate role into the role of an incumbent vicar.  It will be a big change, and I'm already mourning the relative calm experienced when you're not the one who is ultimately responsible for the running of the parish.  I feel ready though.  I'm ready to put the vision that God has given me into practice and action.  I'm excited most about working collaboratively with people and doing everything I can to equip people for mission and ministry. 

I don't know yet where I will be going.  Most of my curate colleagues have already obtained posts.  But I am still waiting.  It is an anxious time, not just for me but for my family.  There are possibilities in the pipeline, but nothing is certain at this time. It is a time for patience and trust. 

It's hard to put into words all that I've learned over the past three years.  And I'm still learning. At the moment, I'm busy working with the vicar from a neighbouring parish in the schools that she is involved with (blooming hard work, coming up with fresh assemblies every week), and I'm leading a weekly discipleship course, "Life on the Frontline", from LICC, which is inspiring and encouraging and refreshing. 

I had a wonderful evening last night leading prayers as Chaplain at the Sea Cadets, who put on an excellent display for the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, Dame Lorna Muirhead.  And we're off next week on an outing with our Lunch Club, with people from our community who have mental health problems, to a candle factory in Beeston, to be followed by a stop at the Cheshire Farm Ice Cream shop. All great stuff.  It's not all wonderful, though, of course... as life runs alongside death at all times in this life - I have a funeral next week for a stillborn baby.  And we continue to minster to parishioners who are facing serious issues.  There's always a tension between the opposite ends of ministry. 

I'm nearly finished with my Master's, with just the dissertation outstanding.  Completing the assignments, alongside everything else, has been a challenge, but I'm excited about starting the dissertation- the focus will be on church growth.  Will try to blog about that later after it gets going.

Anyway, my posts seem to be few and far-between lately, probably because this is such a transitional time.  I'm trying to decide whether I want to blog anymore at all when my curacy is finished.  I may be too busy then .  It has been quite good, though, dipping my toe into the waters of the blogosphere during my curacy.