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 ...

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  The "after Ireland" phrase was no longer applicable - we were now almost at the point of everything beginning.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...