This blog started in 2013 when I began exploring ordination, a rollercoaster ride that took 4 years (see Exploring Ordination).  Somewhat unexpectedly, a new phase in my life and in the life of this blog began on 21st August 2017 when I started my ordination training (if you are starting you might find my Top 10 Tips for starting Ordination Training helpful).

The blog continued as I trained for ordination, although not at the same rate as before – it was difficult to wrestle the thoughts my training provoked into coherent blog posts! The posts give a hint of what it is like to train for ordination, looking at the theological training from the standpoint of someone with none, at the experiences which challenge and transform, and at the impact of juggling training part-time with working full time whilst trying to maintain a healthy family life.  These posts are an insight on just one person’s continuing journey towards being ordained in the Church of England.

The blog posts (most recent first) in this phase are:

1. Ordination in a Pandemic – the services licensing and ordaining me as a Curate in June and September 2020 (24/10/20).
2. Would have, will have – my last post as an Ordinand, in memory of Steve Rogers who died weeks before he had been due to be ordained. (28/06/20)
3. Getting my Curacy License – Due to the Coronavirus pandemic I couldn’t be ordained on the expected date and was licensed then instead. This post contains details about how you can watch the service. (25/06/20)
4. Ember Cards – what they are and how to send them – a guide to designing and sending requests and reminders for prayers for ordination and curacies. (20/05/20)
5. Life, Love and Isolation – how a stay in hospital reinforced the need for the Church’s presence in the digital realm. (06/05/20)
6. Seeking life inside the bubble – how going on a retreat with my family highlighted how Ordination Training needs to change. (08/01/20)
7. The man who doesn’t have it all – is it possible to ask what it is like to be a man and a priest without being sexist and misogynistic? (11/12/19).
8. The art of seeing salvation – how a week at theological college helped me to see how art has the power to help us find our way to God, salvation and much more, even if it wasn’t the artist’s intention (27/09/19).
9. Theory becoming reality – how starting to arrange a curacy for after my training is complete has given me a new dose of Imposter Syndrome (20/09/19).
10. This time now – The experience of going to an Ordination Service when ‘this time next year’ it will be you! (01/07/19).
11. I belong because I don’t – The experience of questioning where, or if, you belong in a church with all manner of traditions (24/04/19).
12. Silently Speaking – Filling the silence risks not hearing the very thing that needs to be heard. Increasingly I’ve realised that isn’t me (28/03/19).
13. Testing the limits – meeting the challenge of being made redundant (02/08/18).
14. Mr Tea – how stopping for a cup of tea helps build self-awareness and tends to our mental health (28/07/18).
15. Now, what was I here for? – what is it like to study whilst also working full-time? (24/12/17)
16. An Experiment with Daily Prayer: Part Two – The Results (06/10/18)
17. An Experiment with Daily Prayer: Part One – considering different ways of praying regularly (19/09/17).
18. Top 10 Tips for starting Ordination Training – passing on some wisdom picked up at the beginning of my Ordination Training (08/09/17).
19. Tears for Fears – the results of a mini-silent retreat as part of my first week of ordination training (23/08/17).
20. Time Turning – reality hits home as Ordinands become Deacons and Priests (04/07/17).
21. Nothing to lose – how going up for prayer and giving up control led me to a second BAP and ordination training (26/07/17).
22. Leaving the Shadows – leaving anonymity behind (27/06/17).