Our experiences, both good and bad, teach us a lot about God, about ourselves and about our calling. Use the resources below to help you think about your experience and whether God is calling you to ordained ministry?
Exploring Experience
- Click here to download an exercise to help you to reflect on your experience so far, and what you might learn from it about God and yourself.
What about ordination?
If your experience seems to be pointing you towards ordained ministry, you may want to clarify this further by thinking about the following questions.
- If you have had this sense of calling for a while, how has it had an impact on your life so far? How has your calling been confirmed by others, circumstances or by your own reflections?
- How broad is your experience of the Church of England? Do you need to grow in your understanding of what is unique about the Anglican church and of the diversity of traditions within it?
- If you are thinking about full-time, paid ordained ministry, what leadership experience have you had? This may not be immediately obvious - especially if you have not had a formal role as a 'leader'. You are a leader when you influence other people. How have you done this in your school, work, family, voluntary and leisure activities?
- How has your faith grown and developed? How can you continue to grow in your faith throughout your life?
- What experience do you have of being involved in mission and evangelism, and what is the good news you want to share with others?
- What has supported you through the tough times in your life, and where do you look for support now? How can you strengthen supportive relationships and continue to cope well when hard times come?
quotes
"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." (Eleanor Roosevelt)
