Another milestone

Today in the Parish of St Mary Magdalene in Clitheroe, an announcement was made which referred to me.

I was named as the new curate of the parish, who will be taking up his post after ordination as a Deacon at the end of June next year (all being well).

Of course, this wasn't a surprise for me. We've been moving towards today's announcement for some time, and just had to wait for certain formalities before announcements could be made.

The church building (pictured above) is the Parish Church for the town (pictured below as seen from the slopes of Pendle (see the picture at the bottom for a view of Pendle from a neighbouring church)). Rather than tell you what I think about it (from a relatively short visit), you should probably take a look at the website I've linked in the first paragraph.

Both DrLanky and I are very happy about the news. Clitheroe is a lovely town, and the parish seems like a perfect fit for us. The Priest in charge of the parish is a former student of Westcott House, and we seem to get on very well. The only slightly troublesome thing is that he and I share Christian names, as do our wives! I suspect there will be a degree of confusion in PCC minutes, magazines, newspapers etc... All good fun!

One thing we don't know about yet concerns housing. As the parish has not had a curate in the last couple of years, there is no house for us yet. The Diocese plans to buy something for us, and we'll have to wait and see what they suggest. At least this way we know that a house will be bought with our needs in mind.

Today feels like a significant step to me. Of course coming away to theological college was a fairly significant step on a personal level, but until today I've been fairly anonymous. Today marks a significant milestone in my life and vocation as what our Principal would call a 'public Christian' - someone who represents Christ and the Church. Of course, that journey will have more significant steps to come (not least ordination), but today still feels significant. In a small market town in Lancashire, a number of people now know that we'll be there in the summer. I hope they're excited; I am.

More news from the coast

It seems to have been some time since my last post, and as LittleLanky is fast asleep beside me and DrLanky is downstairs marking some OU coursework, I have a rare opportunity to blog.

The last few weeks have been busy in my placement. Since the Petertide ordinations and our mad dash to Lancashire, I have been worked hard in the parish. Funerals (and related visits), Weddings (plus rehearsals), Fabric committee meetings, extraordinary PCCs, sermons... plus the usual involvement in Sunday services - reading, deaconing, serving... you get the idea.

After six weeks in Sheringham it's starting to feel like we've done this particular experience now. I have a week and a half left on placement, and we've begun to psychologically adjust to going back to Cambridge. It's been good to be here, but we now want to go home.

Placements like this one are meant to do many things for the ordinands. Learning new things, having new experiences, seeing the reality of parish ministry etc. But the single biggest thing it's done for me is to point out that I really want to get into a curacy, and get on with ministry. I'm happy to embark upon a second year at theological college, and this blog will all too soon be overtaken by academic concerns, but my experience of parish life in Sheringham has got me excited about getting on with this priesthood malarkey. That's probably a good 'learning outcome'!

We should start to get the first clues about where I might be going for a curacy at some point in August. I seem to spend many of my rare idle moments impatiently speculating about where the bishops might want to put me. When that part of the process starts, I expect I will have to be quite tight-lipped until things are confirmed, so whilst I might have some news soon, I won't be able to post anything here for some time. The truth is, I just want to know! Patience is a virtue I haven't quite cracked.

On the positive side, test cricket returns tomorrow. The prospect of a climb to the top of the world test rankings, and a scrap with former England mastermind, Duncan Fletcher, are enough to get me skipping with excitement! Shame I have a funeral tomorrow afternoon, which given the distance from here to the crematorium will occupy me all afternoon. And we can't get Channel 5 here. Do they have an online catchup service?

Retired clergy - what do you think?

Sheringham is a retirement town of some note. Lots of people come here for family holidays for years, and when they get to retirement age, they decide to make the North Norfolk coast their home. This also means that the local churches have more retired clergy than the national average. At St Peter's there are two in the ministry team, and others who simply attend services.

Retired clergy are a gift in many ways, but their presence in parishes is not always positive. For one of my pastoral portfolio* pieces I am thinking of concentrating on retired clergy, and I wondered what you wonderful folk might think about the subject. I have lots of my own ideas, but would be interested to hear other viewpoints.

I'm interested in all perspectives on this matter, so feel free to chip in to the comments below with any of your thoughts, positive or negative, about retired clergy and their role in the church. I'd also be interested in any non C of E angles too.

*the pastoral portfolio is a double unit that all Westcott students have to take, and it includes 3 pieces of work based on one's pastoral experiences during training.

Reflecting on Rev.

A lot has already been said about Rev. and I don't feel I need to go over old ground by repeating every comment I've read recently. The Guardian have carried an interesting round-up of opinions from real clergy, which I found interesting, and the Church Mouse links to a number of reviews in his Friday round-up.

There are four things I'd like to add:

1. Please BBC can we have another series? We need more of this kind of thoughtful and relevant comedy, even if the licence fee gets slashed. This should be the 'bread and butter' of the BBC's comedy output.
2. I liked Dibley at the time it was broadcast. It was good fun and lighthearted, and the characters were appealing, though not in the slightest realistic. The arrival of Rev. has made me realise that Dibley didn't actually do much for the church (I concede that it wasn't necessarily meant to). It was so far removed from reality, that it was just comedy. In my opinion, Rev. is in a different league. It still exaggerates and caricatures the people of the church, but the characters remain believable. And it isn't just the characters; the stories are very real to those of us in the church. The reality of the characters and the stories mean that we aren't just laughing at comedy, we're laughing at ourselves. With the best will in the world, most of us would struggle to say the same about Dibley.
3. I thought the final episode was the best, though I know some found it a bit bleak and dark. For me it spoke about some of the hard realities about ministry (such that I appreciate them). I've known a number of clergy over the years who have had to resign following affairs, one of them very recently and quite close to home. As part of my preparation for selection, this was an area that I explored with my vocations advisor (not that I'm thinking about having an affair), and I came to realise that the clergy are human, and humans often err, sometimes significantly. It doesn't make it easy to come to terms with when it happens, but I think it's the only conclusion I can get to when I feel let-down and disappointed by the actions of those I respect. So Adam's attempt at flirtation with the headteacher (right under his wife's nose) was a part of the programme that made me think a bit! 
4. I thought that the way the writers concluded the episode was a reminder of the gravity and responsibility of the priestly vocation, and an affirmation of my own vocation. Despite the best efforts of the world, we seem still to need God. And most of us still need someone to help us to find the space to approach him amongst the business of our lives; especially at the times in our lives when we are facing change. I suppose Rev. has confirmed to me the potential difficulties of the path I'm following, and it's affirmed my motivation to carry on despite those risks.

Vexed by vestments

One of the things mentioned in my information pack from Westcott is that I should probably invest in some liturgical vestments:

Though not essential, it can be very useful to have some of your own liturgical garments while you are at Westcott... The most useful article by far is a white cassock alb.

Having done a spot of internet research, I am underwhelmed by the web efforts of the UK's vestment suppliers! I suppose I have been conditioned by Amazon.com and the like, to expect that all the product information I need will be immediately accesible online. This isn't the case with many of the suppliers I've looked at. On some sites there are very dated photos showing clergy in typical 'catalogue poses', on others there are hand drawn pictures of garments with no photographs. 

Am I asking for something unreasonable? If I'm to invest £100 in a garment, it would be nice if a bit of effort has been put into the webpage so I know what I'm getting for my money.

Of course, the alternative route will be to visit one of the suppliers to see the vestments 'in the flesh' and try some on. The problem is that there aren't any in our area. The nearest would be a branch of Wippells in Manchester - maybe I'll give them a try, though they are responsible for the photo above!

Are there any wearers of cassock-albs out there who might be able to give me some hints? I've never done this before.

Monday roundup

Rev. is 'rather good' - According to the Guardian, the AB of C thinks the programme is 'rather good'. This is one of several issues on which the Archbishop agrees with me. I do hope that the people at the Beeb who hold the purse-strings will find a bit of funding to continue the show for another season - hopefully more.

An Englishman in Wisconsin - Some of you Lancaster types will know the identity of this serial blogger. He's started blogging again, and his British perspective on American culture is already evident. One for the blog list.

James Anderson does it again - After a robust performance against the Australians, Pakistan looked set to provide stern competition for a buoyant England side. In reality, a low scoring game and favourable swing conditions allowed Jimmy Anderson to produce stunning bowling figures of 11 for 71. Quite rightly, and modestly, he praised the slip fielders for their reliable hands. Anderson's stock has soared in the ICC rankings, and he now sits at his highest ever place in the test bowlers' rankings.

TV licence under fire - Rev. may not get a second season if the licence fee gets scrapped, as suggested by the Adam Smith Institute. I'm a fan of the Beeb, and I think the licence fee has given us the best broadcasting network in the world. I know the independents feel hard done to, but I look at the output from the various channels, and it's the BBC that gets my vote every time; I hardly ever watch ITV and Five (though C4 is quite good sometimes). It's the same with radio - no commercial operator would run Radio 3 or Radio 4, but where would we be without them?

Flying Bishops? - Thinking Anglicans and the Church Mouse report this story about a letter from 15 Anglo-Catholic Bishops. I'm not sure it says anything new or moves the argument along any. An interestng aside is that I recognise a number of signatories as current or former Blackburn Diocese clergy (there may be more who I don't recognise):  

Rt Revd Nicholas Reade, Bishop of Blackburn
Rt Revd Martyn Jarrett, Bishop of Beverley (formerly Bishop of Burnley)
Rt Revd John Goddard, Bishop of Burnley
Rt Revd Mark Sowerby, Bishop of Horsham (formerly at a parish in Accrington and Chaplain to my High School when I was a student)
Rt Revd Robert Ladds (formerly at a parish in Preston before consecration as the Bishop of Whitby - now retired)

Hmmm, not sure what this says about my home diocese! 5 out of 15 is a significant proportion.

Moving on - I'm not the only one going to theological college in a few weeks. Jante has received her bundle of information from Cuddesdon, and is counting down the days. I have returned my batch of forms to Westcott, and am waiting for the final removal quote to arrive.

44 days - must start packing!

Feeling philosophical

Auguste Rodin's Le Penseur

For some reason, I've come over all philosophical about our impending upheaval. I don't mean in relation to the physical move or resettlement. Rather, I'm thinking about the change of mental pace I'm about to experience.

Whilst my current work is challenging in a number of delightful ways, it is rarely intellectually stimulating. In fact, the only time it is intellectually stimulating is when we have a disagreement in our management team meetings, and an 'argument' kicks off.  The mental manoeuvering reminds me of Philosphy seminars, when you would go into the room with firm conviction behind opinion A, and you would leave the room an hour later with a firm conviction behind opinion Z (having travelled through the whole alphabet on the way).

You can imagine, then, that I look forward with a mix of excitement and trepidation as I contemplate a 2 year degree in Theology (for Ministry). My degree was in Philosophy, but this is quite different from theology. And it was 9 years ago! I'm a bit worried that my mind has been dulled by the monotony of everyday working life, but I suppose I just have to work on the basis that it's a bit like riding a bike. 

I have tried to get myself prepared by doing a bit of reading, but as any parents among you will know, there is little spare time in a house where a 9 month old baby lives. I seem to get 4 or 5 pages into a book before having to start it again because I've left it too long before coming back to it.

As if by divine intervention, as I have been typing this post I have received an email from Westcott with a mammoth number of attachments (15 in total). One of these is a reading list which I would have hoped to have dented by now (but haven't). Looks like I'll have to stop procrastinating, and have a look at the email.

Good advice from the Vicar's wife

This is one for the future for DrLanky and me (and possibly LittleLanky). The Vicar's wife has posted 10 tips for clergy families to survive life in a parish setting. They all seem sensible, but I can imagine they're hard to implement at times!

Rev. episode 2

We watched the second episode of Rev. last night. I said last week that it was off to a slow start, but I definitely think it's getting into its stride now.

Maybe because of my own prejudices, I particularly enjoyed the parody of the 'raving evo' pastor with his smoothie bar and white sofas. My only concern about the jokes so far is that many people outside the church (or just on the edges) would not pick up on them. Some of the humour is very subtle, and some of the references are very churchy and very C of E. This suits me fine, and I find it very funny, but I wonder what someone without a church background would make of it.

The other thing I enjoyed about last night's episode was the development of the relationship between the vicar and his wife. Though it is comedy, and subject to exaggeration/hyperbole, I feel like this series is getting closer to showing what vicars really get up to than any other TV series has ever managed before. Fundamentally, he is shown as a fairly ordinary bloke who is trying to find a healthy balance between his work and family. In amongst all of this are the random characters that you actually do find in churches.

I'll be watching again next week. Apparently the first episode was viewed by more people than viewed Big Brother!
Maggi Dawn has posted today with her thoughts on the series so far.She links to Simon Marsh's post on the same subject.