Are you exploring your vocation?
The good news is that if you are baptised you already have a vocation because ‘vocation’ just means ‘calling’. Our primary calling as Christians is to live life in all its fullness and be representatives of Christ in the world. God loves us and wants us to be the person he has called us to be. For some we may identify our calling as a role in the world that allows us to follow Jesus as a disciple and share our God given skills in service to benefit others. There is also another calling, sometimes called ‘having a vocation’, which is not for everyone but may be for you. This particular calling is to serve God and all people through one of the Church’s authorised lay or ordained ministries. For this particular calling you have to allow your sense of vocation to be tested by the Church through its discernment processes.
Many people feel called to serve God through ministry in various different forms – some of these may be Lay or Ordained Ministry or, for example, as a Church Army Evangelist. God calls all people to follow him and some to minister his Church. He calls young people and older ones, men and women, the wealthy and poorer from all walks of life, social classes, ethnic backgrounds and educational abilities. God has a place set aside for us all in his world.
Understanding God’s calling can be challenging – you might feel excited, anxious, scared or not sure of what to do next. Prayer and being open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help you discern your calling, whatever it is to, can be helpful. Often, the first step to exploring whether ministry is the right path for you is to speak to someone, either to me or to a member of our ministry team.
The South West Ministry Training Course (SWMTC) is one of the best ways of discovering more about the Christian faith locally. Courses are held regularly for those wishing to study various aspects of Christian theology or to pursue a specific vocation. Again, I have details of these courses and information can also be found on the SWMTC website www.swmtc.org.uk. Please do speak to me if you are interested to know more.
Adult Christian Exploration Summer 2016
A new ACE program begins this May. This will be held in the Parish Centre on Mondays from 11.30 am -1 pm (coffee is available from 11.15 am). Everyone is welcome. The details of the Summer Program are:
Monday 16th May Making sense of the Old Testament
Monday 23rd May Making sense of the New Testament
Monday 6th June A journey around Israel
Monday 13th June How can Jesus be God and Man?
Monday 27th June Open to Question …
Celebrating the Queen’s 90th Birthday
I am proposing to hold a service to celebrate the Queen’s 90th Birthday on Sunday, 12th June 2016, at 3pm in Tavistock Parish Church. This will be part of the national celebrations being held across the country over the weekend. Everyone is invited to the service which I hope will be a significant community event.
Monthly Healing and Wholeness Service – a change of date and time
The next two services of Healing and Wholeness will be held on Wednesday 18th May 2016, and Wednesday 15th June 2016, both at 11.30 am in Tavistock Parish Church. Everyone is welcome.
With my love and prayers.
Christopher Hardwick