You are going to do what!!!!! Yes,
yes I am.
Telling someone you were going to begin training as
a Church and England vicar can be daunting as you just do not know the response
you are going to get. When I worked in retail I experienced some of the strangest
reactions. It was really hard to hear some of the things told to me. It upset me and made me angry. It also made me want to tell people more about my calling in hope that I would help change their negative views of faiths.
What People Said
|
What I thought
|
You do not look like your average priest.
|
What does one look like, do they have two heads?
|
(Sarcastically) I'll say a little prayer for you
then mate.
|
Ermmm thanks…I think
|
I've never seen a vicar in ripped jeans.
|
I’m not a vicar just going to train, but why
shouldn’t they wear ripped jeans?! (Tries to suppress anger)
|
Why on earth would you want to do that?
|
Well I had a calling
|
Are you joking?
|
Here we go again…
|
Can women even do that?
|
Yes, the first woman was priested in 1994
actually !
|
I didn't just have negative reactions, I had some
lovely responses to;
·
Well
what a lovely young lady you are, the church needs people like you!
·
I think
it is great!
·
What a
joy it is for someone so young doing something so worthwhile with their life.
·
I am so
excited for you, I will keep you in my prayers.
The fact the negative responses outweigh the
positive tells me that there is a huge amount of people who are sheltered
from religion, have had bad experiences or simply do not understand what it
means to be a priest. For this reason, I am briefly going to explain why I, a
20 something year old feels called to this vocation.
I have gone to church since I was a small child and
I hated it. It was the same songs week in week out and I got bored, but whether
God existed was never an issue. I remember praying to God that I would be next in the talent show. It was not till I was older that I returned to
church. When I was 16 I went to a Christian conference and here is where I
experienced what I would call a vision of me preaching to thousands of people.
However, after this happened I had an unhappy time, dealing with family death
and sickness and getting out of a very unhappy relationship. For a period
of time I turned away from a Christian life, going to church but not
living like a Christian. I did things I regret, I have defiantly sworn,
drunk too much and acted in a way that you may think inappropriate for a future
priest. These experiences made me who I am today. I felt convicted to change
the way I acted, my dresses got slightly longer and my hot pants became a thing
of the past.
Soon after a friend confronted me asking me about my
future and I told them that I felt called to go into church leadership-to which
they replied why not now? I soon came to realise that all the things which
had happened to me were in God's plan. Jerimiah 29:11 is my all-time favourite
verse and has kept me strong through everything. People kept telling me have you thought of
becoming a vicar, you would be so good. As soon as I pursued it the doors flew
open. It was so exciting. Yes, the church exciting! So here I am today,
following God’s plan for me.
Be blessed
Steph
No comments