The Story so Far

Becoming an Ordained Local Minister (OLM) in the Church of Scotland

Well, this probably wasn't supposed to happen...

Once up on a time, I got involved with the worship group at my church.  The idea was that the members of congregation could give the real minister a break now and again.  So the group of us would sit down with the theme for that particular week, and between us we would thrash out a service.  The results were reasonably well received, and over time, our small group got to do all the various parts of a Church of Scotland service.  Everything except play the organ, but you wouldn't want to listen to anything we could play...

So I'd heard about the Readership, a role which, according to the Church of Scotland website, is principally concerned with the ministry of the word and the conduct of public worship.  Mrs Gerbil decided to go to an Enquirers Conference, the first step to becoming a Minister in the Kirk, and I decided to go along for some of the following reasons:

• It's the most exciting thing you can do in Dundee once you have visited Discovery.
• I had sort of promised I would support her in her ministry.
• There wasn't much on the telly that weekend.
• I was interested in hearing more about the readership.
• It's was a good excuse to get the motorbike out.
• Something just felt right about going.

 So I heard about the Readership, and it seemed right for me.  I would be able to do the bits of worship that I enjoyed, but on a more formal, regular basis, and I'd be trained in it.  The only thing was, I wasn't convinced that this was the right time for me, so I put the idea off for a couple of years.

Then, some time in 2011, I felt a little voice in the back of my head telling me that I really should think about the Sacraments.  Does God speak to people?  Yes.  Was God speaking to me?  Not sure, but the thought wouldn't go away.  It just sat there, niggling away.  This was the point that the Kirk was discussing the Ordained Local Ministry, something that wasn't available at the time of the first Enquirers Conference.

So once more, same Dundee but different motorbike.  Have a look at my enquirers conference blog posts which start here.

The Ordained Local ministry seemed right for me.  All of the preaching but with the permission and endorsement from the Kirk to perform the Sacraments.   I still wasn't entirely sure that God had picked the right sort of person, but thy will be done etc.  I signed up to go through the Enquiry Process.  Part one is shadowing a minister to see what they do and to see if the job is what you think it is. This can be for as little as 8 weeks or up to six months.  I was at the shorter end of the scale, as I'm good friends with a number of ministers, and I'm fully aware they do an awful lot more than just an hour every Sunday.  Not everyone is so enlightened.  Honestly.

Part two is a field assessment which lasts six months.  You are placed with a minister and congregation where your call is explored.  There's a couple of interviews with a church psychologist, before a final interview.  I got to the end of the interview absolutely sure I was going to be turfed out.  But the letter arrived and they said

Yes.

This allowed me to go to a selection conference where, through a mixture of interviews, group exercises and other tasks, my calling was well and truly examined.  The time between Enquirers Conference and Selection Conference was nearly a year.  You will never have a job interview process that is as rigorous as this.  The letter arrived.

Yes.

I read it again.

Yes.

How?  Don't know, but here I am.  Training to be an Ordained Local Minister.  No, I don't know how I got here, or what God has planned for me, but it's been a fun ride so far,

If you feel like you are being called to do something, start by having a look at the Church of Scotland website and give an Enquirers Conference a go.  At the very least you will meet a group of people in the same position as yourself.  Enjoy the ride.


spotthegerbil