Summer Break?

Emma Coley was ordained this summer and is a curate in Wendover with Halton, Buckinghamshire ...

I have met about a million people in the last couple of months! You may not think that Wendover is big enough to house a million people, but from all the faces and names swirling around my head, I am convinced that it must be about that number.    We have been made incredibly welcome by everyone we have met, and the congregation have coped very well with a non-standard curate (if there is such a thing) who insists on wearing unconventional clerical tops!

Most of the church groups and meetings pause over the summer holidays and so I have had a gentle easing in and plenty of time to get my bearings of who's who and what goes on in the church. I have also had plenty of time to think about what in particular I would like to do within the parish. My inclination is to do as much as possible and get involved in everything going. However, I have already learnt from Mark, the vicar, the importance of lay involvement.  From baptism and funeral co-ordination, to running junior church, to visiting and supporting the sick or elderly, the congregation are deeply immersed in the life and soul of the church. I hope they know how vital they are to the loving character of the church, and the sense of truly belonging to the family of God.

I have no reason (or excuse?!) therefore, for madly dashing from one activity to another, no excuse to hurry. And this, according to Bishop Mike Hill (speaking at the New Wine conference in August) is no bad thing. For as we hurry our lives, as we immerse ourselves in activism, we gradually squeeze out those who are closest and most important to us; giving the dregs of our time to those who deserve the best, all in the name of busyness. Further-more, we rush into action for God without perhaps checking that our priorities are his priorities.

I am brought back, therefore, to not just pondering but seriously praying about my usefulness and involvement in the parish. I am challenged by the examples of Mary and Martha and firmly convinced that my usefulness will only come about through a commitment to do not what I am excited or enthused about, but what God would have me do in his church, for his people.