Wow – life has got busy since I started my ordination training in September!
The Yorkshire Ministry Course is really good – we’ve settled into a rhythm now, of Wednesdays and weekends, working our way through the New Testament and elements of Ministry and Mission. My fellow ordinands are awesome, and there are one or two in particular who are fantastic to be walking alongside, to help and be helped by.
What is particularly noticeable is that an awful lot of “normal life” has got squeezed out. I’m hugely enjoying the reading, writing, thinking, reflecting… but I also used to quite enjoy watching TV, reading for pleasure, taking photos, and blogging!
My personal tutor asked me what my amibition/target was for the first year of my training, and I must confess I haven’t really thought about this. My aim for the first term was, more or less, “survive” (or “pass”, if you prefer) – which seems to have happened. But I can recognise that the time has come to perhaps lift my head a bit, and start looking beyond the next essay deadline.
One of the peculiarities of the course is the diversity of pathways – of the c. 30 people in the first year, only two others are doing the same thing as me (the same modules, at the same time, and the same level, for the same duration). I barely understand the pathway I am on, and have given up trying to understand anyone else’s. It’s a lesson in patience, submission, and trust – we are told what we need to know by the time we need to know it, and that has to be enough.
I will blog more thoughts and little gems I’ve picked up another time, but I did at least want to write something (for the first time since June!!)