Singing New Songs

I was ordained as a priest on Saturday 26th September 2020. A delayed, scaled-down affair compared to the pomp and circumstance of my deaconing last June but an extraordinarily intimate, gentle and personal experience instead. And an experience where, once again, the Spirit came and made his presence felt among us and in us and all kinds of feelings were felt.  I feel, somehow, that this moment marks the completion of something. It also marks the start of lots of other things but there is a completeness about stepping in to this next chapter. When I finally admitted I felt God's call to ordination, I knew I felt called to the priesthood, rather than the diaconate, so this was the culmination of all the seeking, praying, talking and working over more than 5 years. This sense of completion became more and more acute during last week's pre-ordination retreat. I'll explain.....  Over 4 years ago, a wise man (who also happened to be my Diocesan Director of Ordinands, faced with ...

Ever wondered what the definition of bleary-eyed looks like? Look no further..... This is me pondering my New Normal - at 6.45am yesterday morning, waiting for the train to London. I will be doing this journey every Monday in term time for the next two years and so, although I wasn't outside the front door, it still felt right to mark my "first day at school", in the now time-honoured fashion. 6.45am doesn't sound too bad when you write it down but it felt much earlier than that, as I'm not a great morning person at the best of times. Getting up and getting going has always been M's strength, not mine, and so my 5.50am alarm yesterday got short shrift and a few choice words from me and a quietly knowing chuckle from the sleepy form next to me! The early start was worth it, though.  I really loved my first full, proper day at college.  I think it's probably safe to say that everyone took things gently for us newbies but we did have real lec...

This was our view of Liverpool as we sailed back in to England from Belfast last week. We took the overnight boat and woke up to a beautiful dawn sky, full of promise, ready for a new day. Ever since we got back from our wonderfully relaxing, happy, family-focussed holiday, there has been a sense of anticipation of what is now imminent.  The "after Ireland" phrase was no longer applicable - we were now almost at the point of everything beginning.  And that week is now here. The dawn has come and "the day lies open before us", to paraphrase the Morning Prayer liturgy. This afternoon saw my first proper act as an ordinand, albeit not a particularly difficult one - going for coffee, cakes and Evening Prayer with the Bishop of Coventry and other new ordinands from my diocese. There was lots of discussion of college start dates and patterns of work/study and calm, reassuring words. I think the thing I appreciated most was Bishop Christopher's care...

This may seem a funny title for a first blog post but this week represents the "last of the lasts". For the moment, at least. My youngest son and I have both spent the last few weeks saying our goodbyes and packing up one phase of our lives, ready to embark on the next. For him, it's been about finishing at primary school, ready to start secondary school in September. For me, it's about dismantling a singing and teaching career I have worked really hard to set up and get going and have found massively rewarding, as well as challenging, ready to start training for ordination in the Church of England. Saying goodbye to schools and pupils at the end of term, ready to become a learner again myself. Perhaps I should introduce myself.  I'm Abby and I've been a singer and singing teacher for 7 years. Before that, I had a "proper job" managing communications in a government agency, where I thought I'd stay for a long time, but God seemed to have...