Time for a re-think?

Categories: christianity, future-plans, uncertainty, anglicanism, methodism, cafes, homosexuality, relationships

Tags: Risks, Christianity, Homosexuality, Anglicanism, Future plans, Uncertainty

Date: 19 July 2010 15:51:54

I spent the weekend on retreat with a group from GCN at Buckfast Abbey, which is near Totnes in Devon. It's only the third GCN event I'd been to, and I was nervous that I would be stuck spending my weekend with deeply irritating camp blokes or people all too like some folks I've known in Durham who aren't very comfortable with their sexuality and act like jerks to hide the fact. Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong about it!

The first evening we had a lovely meal, much wine and a talk about 1 Peter from the priest leading the weekend. On the Saturday, TractorGirl and I led a session looking at the prologue to St John's Gospel in the morning. As a couple of people requested it, I've added the text of my talks. We had a nice lunch at the Abbey's cafe, which does extremely tasty-but-bad-for-you puddings. In the afternoon, one of our members talked about his experience of the ex-gay movement and we had a good discussion about being gay in the church. That evening saw us decant to the pub for a lovely meal (or at least it was when my food finally got there!) and I spent the Sunday morning chilling while TractorGirl went to mass.

For the most part, the weekend gave me much-needed space to relax, to catch up with people (though some all too briefly - methinks some travel might be in order) and make new friends. It did me good to get out of Durham for a while, and I got to spend some quality time with TractorGirl which I really appreciated and was lovely.

So far, so good. However, God was also doing his thing of unsettling things. One of the people on the retreat was an Anglican priest and after hearing me preach, told me he thinks I am a natural preacher, teacher and pastor and that in his belief, I am called to some sort of ministry within the church. This wasn't the first time someone has told me that - it has happened several times after preaching and when getting to know people in the church - but what scared me a bit was his certainty.

Now, since I left the ordination process in Durham Diocese, for what I think was a sensible and principled reason, I've been doing a certain amount of re-assessment of my faith and place within the church. I had initially concluded that Anglican ordained ministry was not for me and that I would be better giving up altogether or looking at switching denominations. However, in the last couple of months, I've been wrestling with all of this and the jolt over the weekend confirms my initial thoughts:

Within my remaining time in Durham, I would like to keep worshipping at the Methodist Church that has become 'church family' and who have loved and accepted me unconditionally. The Cathedral is lovely and I will still go there sometimes, but I've had enough.

Joint Anglican-Methodist membership is something I would like to do purely for its own sake, because it does express my journey and theological roots. However, I don't think I'd pursue local preaching unless after the move I end up in a Methodist church. First and foremost, I am an Anglican. The Church of England, despite its many faults, is my home and I love it very much. I feel deep down that it's where God wants me to be, and after all, it won't change if everyone who struggles in it flees.

Leaving the process hasn't lessened my desire to serve God in the church as well as the world of work. I don't think full-time parish ministry is for me, but NSM or reader training do appeal, and I need to stop running away and look at them.

In short, the conclusion I've come to is that God doesn't seem to want to give up on me in ministry in the church of some form. The task now is to discern the right expression for that. This means dealing once again with the thorny issue of sexuality and after the weekend and sharing my story and, far more interestingly, hearing from others, I just about feel in a position to do that. I will have to get better at 'playing the game', but I think stepping back for a while and talking to so many encouraging people has helped me see how that might work.

I think, through all the 'ifs, buts and maybes' of the last few weeks, what has emerged through much prayer, thought, wrestling and tears, is a sense of the need to step out, take risks and use my gifts to serve God. I can't really talk about the other part of my life where the need to take a leap of faith and just live with the uncertainties has become apparent and I hope I'm responding appropriately, but in both cases, I've realised that I can either carry on running away, or take the risk of love. It's very scary, but I honestly believe I'm doing the right thing in both cases.

There's a clip from one of the best films of all time, in my humble opinion, 'Good Will Hunting', about taking risks. I couldn't find the specific clip I wanted, but the end of this illustrates my point about safety nets and the need to risk getting hurt to find love:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAF8zRUdp18&feature=related[/youtube]