The Bishop of St Asaph, Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, writes:
Here I am – send me. There are few more powerful affirmations of faith than these simple five words. They were the words uttered by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah and they resonate with everyone who has offered themselves for ordination. They sum up the nature of ministry – a confident, complete and voluntary response of service to the work of God.
This is why these words have been chosen by the Church in Wales to help raise awareness of the nature of vocation – a calling to live a life of serving God by being ordained as a priest and leading the church into the future. In this busy, noisy world in which we live today, it’s not always easy to hear the “still, small voice of calm” calling us to a different way of life. There are so many distractions and other demands it is difficult to pay attention to what we are really being called to do or to question the path we’re on. Sometimes, it takes others who know us well to point it out to us before we start listening more carefully.
This year, for the second year running, we’re putting one Sunday aside especially to pray for people who have a calling to ministry and to encourage others to consider whether they may have one too. Ministry and Calling Sunday will be held in Churches across Wales on June 5, the Sunday after Ascension. This Sunday comes just at that point of the Church’s year when the disciples were waiting for the empowering of the Holy Spirit, as we are waiting for God’s spirit to renew our Church in our own time.
Each church will be given a resource pack with relevant readings, reflections and prayers for those thinking about ordinations. There will also be postcards people can fill in if they feel they have a vocation and need advice about what to do next as well as cards you can pass on to those you feel may have a vocation but who need a little nudge. These resources will also be available online at www.churchinwales.org.uk/call or in Welsh, at www.churchinwales.org.uk/galwad/
We’ll also be launching a website, which will be online at www.vocationswales.org.uk from June 5, giving advice, contact details, news and resources for those who want to look into vocations more closely. If you’re on Facebook then look up “Church in Wales Vocations”.
The Church in Wales wants to seek and inspire a new generation of church leaders. In many ways, it’s a practical desire – a third of our clergy currently serving are due to retire in the next five years. We don’t believe God has stopped calling people but we do believe He is calling us to search out and develop new ways of being Church, and exercising ministry to sustain our life. Ordained ministry has still got an important role to undertake, and we all need to work together to seek out vocations – especially among younger people.
