Categories: uncategorized
Date: 22 December 2007 00:13:46
The first few months of marriage weren't easy. Tina was unemployed and I was in a low paid job that was about to come to an end.
We both scoured the local paper looking for employment. Tina signed on with an agency to do temp work which eventually turned into a full time job. I saw an advert in the South London Press from a large Pest Control company whose name begins with "R", end s with "L" and has "entoki" somewhere in the middle.
It had never occurred to me to do anything like that. Well, why should it? Who leaves school with the intention of killing animals for a living? (Apart from the Royal Family). Even so, I saw the ad in the paper and reckoned it was something I could do. At least it was a steady job with a regular salary, which is what I really needed.
I started with Rentokil in August 2003 and threw myself into the job completely. What I initially saw purely as a stop gap before embarking on Driving Instructor training again, I found to be a fascinating and rewarding job. I discovered that there was far more to pest control than simply laying traps or putting down poison. To do the job properly, it was necessary to fully understand the biology of the pest species' we were dealing with, and also the chemistry behind the various preparations used to control them. All in all, I found the Pest Control business to be extremely enjoyable.
Meanwhile at Church, we were going through an interregnum. I carried on with my own established role and also took on some extra tasks as well. I worked very closely with the Churchwardens and the Area Dean. On Sundays, I would normally read the Gospel, assist the Priest at the Altar and preach about once a month. During the interregnum, I found myself preaching more frequently, I had the very enjoyable task of choosing the hymns each Sunday, and I was responsible for Baptism Preparation and Confirmation classes.
Our interregnum lasted much longer than it should have. There had been talk for a long time about what the Diocese had euphemistically called "Growing Together". What this actually meant was getting rid of full-time clergy and having one Priest responsible for more that one church.. The Neighbouring parish to ours had been dying on its feet for some years, so that was the first one in the Deanery to lose its own incumbent. When our previous Vicar moved on, the Vicar of the neighboring parish was coming up for retirement, so it was decided that the two parishes should merge. They would still run as individual churches, but with a shared incumbent. We couldn't advertise the post until the next door Vicar had retired though.
Fr G from next door retired and we advertised for a new Priest. In the summer of 2004, Fr S was installed as Priest in Charge of the two parishes. Later on, the two separate parishes were to become a United Benefice, but to continue as individual churches in their own right.
Initially, things were great. With the new Vicar, I was also given new responsibilities. I continued with what I'd been doing previously, but also got actively involved within the work of our new sister church and would preach and lead services there on a fairly regular basis.
As 2004 came to and end, my two years were up from the original date I'd sat the ADI Part 1 exam. On 21st December, I took the exam again and passed with flying colours.
This was a great Christmas present and a really positive way to begin 2005.