'Life calling’, Lent course

Life Calling …

… is the title of a course which Bishop Nigel has invited all churches to use during Lent. Nick Andrewes and I have decided to make it available for as many of us that want to in St Paul’s and St Thomas’.

One reason for this that I will retire in 3 years’ time and Nick will be the Priest-in-charge of both churches.  This will be difficult for him and for everyone else unless at least two or three others are Licensed as Ordained Local Ministers or Readers and more as ‘Pastoral Visitors’ (provisional title). Bishop Nigel has written about the diocese ‘As we approach 2025, we will begin a process of preparing and retraining laity and clergy to enable us, under God, to reshape, rebalance and re-energise our mission and ministry. For too long the C of E has focused on amalgamation as the chief mean of pastoral reorganisation.  Our entirely different approach – which aims to have around 350 churches served by 350 ministers (ordained and lay) -  rejects the language of decline and aims to encourage a worshipping, missionary congregation in each of the main communities of the diocese additionally served through the ministry of all the baptised.’

That last phrase ‘the ministry of all the baptised’ is reflected in the content of the ‘Life calling’ course.  The introduction says ‘Vocation is a word that has been shrinking for decades.  Originally it expressed the birthright of every baptised person – a call to know God and live in the light of that relationship.  It then became focused on what today we would define as our work, career or profession.  It was then further restricted to “the caring professions” – clergy, teachers, doctors and nurses.  More recently, the word has come to be used exclusively to refer to the ordained ministry.

‘As a result many people have lost all sense of their life calling – that which God has made them to be and do.  The truth is that God has made each of us in his own image, and calls us to follow him, discovering and exercising the particular skills and gifts he has given us, growing into the unique fullness of the person he has called us to be and sharing in his work of bringing all creation to its intended wholeness.

‘Few of us would set out for a day’s walking in the mountains without a route plan or map.  But many of us embark on the different stages of our lives with little thought about our direction or purpose.  From time to time it is helpful to stop and take stock of this, to reconsider our priorities and reorient ourselves around our God.’

What does the course consist of?

Five sessions, each designed to last 90 minutes.  At least two venues, one each in St Thomas’ and St Paul’s. At least one in an evening.  Days and  times will be decided by majority vote when signing up is organised in each church – please indicate all times when you are available.  The sessions will start in the week beginning 13 March. 

Most sessions will include some teaching, a passage of Scripture, reflecting on our life and interactive ideas designed to engage with our imaginative capacities, not just our ability to think or reason. No-one will be put under pressure to do or say things you do not want to do.

Session 1: Called by God  -Looks at the shape of God’s call as seen in Scripture and explores how that works out in our lives.

Session 2: Called from within – Although the call comes from God, it is the drawing out of what he has planted in us, not the imposing of something foreign to our nature.

Session 3: Called out – The good news is that God’s call sets us free from pressures we put upon ourselves, and others place upon us.  Yet there is a cost for God calls us out of our narrow pursuits, our comfort zones and our habits. His call sets us free to share in his purposes of love.

Session 4: Called up – God calls us to join in with his loving care of the world, part of which involves enlisting us in the work of bringing it to wholeness.  For some that means a lifelong ‘vocation’ but for most of us it is about a life-giving way of living an ‘ordinary’ life.

Session 5: Called on – To live life in response to God’s call is to embark on a journey through life in which we make a contribution to the world around us.  This session explores how we can grow in our sense of calling beyond the end of the course.

Andrew Dawson