A NEW BEGINNING - L - PLATES AND MINISTRY
It’s been a roller coaster of a summer for me.
God called me into ordained ministry over four years ago, and after eighteen months of supervised discernment and assessment, and a further two years of academic study, I was ordained as Deacon on 1st July 2023.
After the years of study, the ordination day was extraordinarily special. Family and friends all joined me and other curates to be to pray for our future ministry as the bishop prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide us. The whole world receded in that moment! I have been utterly blessed to be given a curacy (trainee vicar placement) for the next three years or so under the care and leadership of Revd Ginni Dear who is incumbent for St Ippolyts, Little Wymondley and Great Wymondley churches.
The congregations have been welcoming and encouraging for which I am so very grateful. Thank you! This placement is not without its challenges, but I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some of the people in the local communities, and I look forward to meeting more of you and hearing about you, your faith, and your lives in this place. I look forward to serving you and these communities too!
As I am sure you are all aware, a church community is made up of people who are exploring or developing a relationship with Jesus. Christians are varied in age, culture, tradition, language, and background, but we all have one thing in common; we are loved by and forgiven by God, through his son, Jesus Christ. It brings us a sense of peace and often profound joy. Most churches have a building, and our local parishioners are caring for church buildings that are ancient, listed, and desperately impractical for contemporary life. An increasingly small number of volunteers look after the churchyards, the buildings inside and out, and try to keep on top of bats, cobwebs, and damp.
I have been struck by and am in awe of the amount of time and effort given by so few to enable anyone within the parishes to worship, get married, baptise a child, or say goodbye to a loved one. We owe all those who love and care for our church buildings, who give generously to fund their upkeep, a huge debt of gratitude, for without them, there would be no church building!
Revd Tricia Reed
