Uncertainty

Categories: randomness, christianity, future-plans, uncertainty, anglicanism, methodism

Tags: Sacraments, Church Structure, Anglicanism, Future plans, Methodism

Date: 22 April 2010 15:39:59

It's been a busy week with essays to get done, so I haven't had the chance to blog for a little while. In case anyone wonders what a mathematician is doing writing essays (I got a grilling from a friend on Facebook for this yesterday), I am doing a BA in Theology and Ministry with the Lindisfarne Regional Training Partnership. For the most part, it's been a good experience, though given it's in its first year, there have been teething problems. I'm currently doing a module on the Christian tradition, which has given me the chance to write essays on Anglicanism's shaping by the Reformation and on the Enlightenment. The first of those ties into a current dilemma: For some time, I was exploring the possibility of Anglican ordination but that didn't work out because I didn't want to lie about the nature of my relationship with TractorGirl. Now, during my time in Durham, I've attended Methodist churches at the same time as worshipping at the Cathedral due to being part of Methsoc. My theology has in some respects moved closer to Methodism than the high Anglicanism I had settled into when I arrived in Durham, but there is a lot about Anglicanism that I still really appreciate. The reason I'm rambling about this is I am considering joint membership of both churches and this raises certain issues:

Is the three-fold ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons the only model for church order or can other models such as the Methodist system work? Is it contradictory to accept two very different structures?
How important are the Sacraments, and in particular, participation in the Eucharist, to my faith and how I understand it? I have no problem accepting Methodist sacraments as valid because I go with Richard Hooker's receptionist understanding and admire Wesley's emphasis on regular communicating. However, both the Methodist churches in Durham only have monthly communion.
Tied in with this is the Methodist sense of membership involving belonging to one particular church, unlike the Anglican system, shaped by being the established church. In practice, this means choosing a church to belong to, and while I'm very definitely part of the family at my preferred church, services there clash with the Cathedral Sung Eucharist which I usually go to. I worship regularly at the other Methodist church's evening service, but feel much less part of the family there. How to choose?

To add to all of that, the only thing I really miss about exploring ordination is being able to preach. Methodist local preaching has been suggested to me and does appeal, but I'd need to worship regularly in the church to be able to do that with integrity, which may mean having my membership at my less preferred church, or attending the other and sacraficing being a regular at the Cathedral Sung Eucharist. Help! At the same time as all of this, I'm pondering my future career plans. There are a couple of jobs I'm applying for this week that would use my maths and keep me in Durham. One of them is to do with regional development, which is something I'm more than open to looking into in the future, and it'd be great to be able to use my maths to do something useful. I think, in the long run, I'd love to have the chance to work on the interaction of science and faith like I was able to in my Enlightenment essay, but am not sure how to make this happen. Answers on a postcard, please!