Vocations conferences are the first stage in training for any of the Ministries within the Church of Scotland. This one was well attended, and I know there are people this week who have contacted or are thinking about contacting Ministries Council to take the next step.
After the conference, I noticed traffic on this blog increase. The first post from my own Vocation conference (they were called Enquirers Conferences then.) is to be found here.
After the conference, one of the attendeed emailed me for more information. What follows is the edited highlights of an exchange of emails. Names, places etc deleted.
If you are thinking about any role within the Church of Scotland, contact them first and they will advise. My advice may not be the current practice.
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I’m not a member of Ministries Council staff, so I can
only speak about the process as it has affected me. The process has
changed a little since I started, but the main things remain unchanged.
The first thing you need to do is email Ministries Council through vocation@cofscotland.org.uk and
ask for the application pack. Once you return that, Ministries Council
will organise with Healthlink360 to set up the interviews that will decide
whether or not you proceed to the next stages of the process, namely the Period
of Discernment, the Local Review and the National Assessment Conference.
Ministries council will help you if you have any
questions about the steps that you have to follow. They are often pretty busy,
especially so after conferences, so please bear with them! There are some other
things that are worth considering as well. The first speaker at the conference spoke about being able to express your call. If your best
friend asked you why you are doing this, how would you explain it to
them? Why do you feel that God is calling you to serve in His church?
What made you come to this decision? Do you need to be an Ordained
Minister to serve God? One of the questions I was asked at the National
Assessment Conference was about the other forms of ministry. Why are you
not called to be a Reader, a full time Minister or a Deacon. Be prepared
to express why the other ministries aren't for you. This is not to say
that the other ministries are less of a vocation, but they each suit a
particular type of person.
You are also likely to be asked about how you feel about
the ordination of women. The Church of Scotland has been ordaining women
since the 1960’s. If your theology disagrees with the ordination of
women, then the CofS may not be for you. You may be asked about infant
baptism, and this is also something that we do that some churches will
not. They are not looking for a deep theological argument, just an
assurance that your beliefs don’t run contrary to the theology of the Church.
If you have any OLM's working in your own or neighbouring
presbyteries, it might also be worth making contact with them, and discussing
their role.
There are some books that people often get suggested to
read as trainee ministers. Called
or Collared by Francis Dewar is one that springs to mind. It’s
written from a Church of England perspective, but the sense of calling is the
same. This website
explains a call to ministry, and the steps they went through. Here’s another.
There are a few more ministry blogs out there, from any number of denominations.
I know this may be obvious, but have you talked this
through with your family? It may be your call, but it’s a whole lot
harder if you don’t have a family that understands what you are doing.
Whatever happens, you will be devoting a lot of your time to training and your
eventual Ministry, and if you are married, your wife will become a Minister’s
wife, whether she wants to or not. Sundays will never be your own again,
and as you train, you will be spending time studying, preparing for worship, or
attending and observing church life, more often than not on weeknights between
7.30 and 10.00 pm. You will have a couple of conferences a year, plus
whatever duties you are expected to carry out as part of your placements.
Also, have you spoken to your own minister. At some
point they will be asked for a reference, but it’s good to chat with them about
their sense of call.
If you are in doubt about whether you are able to study,
because I know I had my doubts, you may wish to sign up to Aberdeen Uni or
Highland Theological College to sit one module. If you qualify for an ILA Scotland grant,
the fees may be covered. If you pass the module, you can count it towards
your Certificate, Diploma, or if you go all the way, your degree. The
CofS will fund your course, but only once you have been accepted at the
Assessment conference.
Journaling. I am no diarist, and the thought of
putting my thoughts onto paper scared me. However I have actually found
it useful to have something to look back on, and it’s a good habit to be
in. We are supposed to be “reflective practitioners”, whatever that means,
so the journal has certainly helped me reflect on where I have been. It
shouldn’t take you long, and most people just use a Word document and write it
up a couple of times a week. There’s guidance available from Ministries
Council on journaling, which may even be in your application pack.
The final thing I have to say is that the discernment
process is about you exploring your call. You may get halfway through and
you decide that OLM or any form of ministry just isn’t for you, and that God
was calling you in another direction. There is absolutely no shame in
withdrawing or changing to another form of ministry. Again, Ministries
Council will help you whatever you decide.
Sorry that has been a wall of text, and I am happy to
answer any future questions. Whatever you decide to do, I pray that you
are blessed by God on your journey.
Kind regards,
Spot
Part 2 to follow tomorrow...
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