On Saturday 1 July, 17 people were ordained to the Priesthood in the Diocese of Southwark, having served as Deacons during the past year. Two of the newly ordained Priests have reflected on their journey to the Priesthood….
The Revd Annie Wanjohi, Assistant Curate at St John The Divine, Kennington writes…
I was born in Nyahururu, Kenya, one of seven siblings. My parents were teachers and brought us up in the Roman Catholic faith. Whilst in University my spirit was restless and I questioned aspects of my catholic faith. This led me to explore Christian faith in a broader sense through charismatic, Pentecostal and Evangelical traditions. I started reading the Bible and my faith was stirred up.
This continued when I came to the UK and as I joined my sending church St Saviour’s church Eltham, I was able to exercise the fullness of my new found faith of salvation in the familiar Catholic tradition. God has a sense of humour, I realised I’ve come full circle to Anglo-Catholic tradition and what I know now is what I was looking for which was revelation and understanding.
My vocation journey continues to surprise me as it constantly develops before my very eyes. I knew I was called to serve but never to ordained ministry. I loved serving in our church under the leadership of the Revd Wendy Saunders, as church warden, PCC Secretary, administrative secretary and a Sunday school teacher. In Holy Trinity Eltham, I was a verger for weddings and funerals and did their hall bookings. In February 2018 Bishop Karowei dropped the bombshell that he believed I was called to be ordained and this kick started an 18 months discernment process that saw me attend the Bishop’s Certificate course and a successful selection panel.
My career has been varied, I was a teacher in Kenya and later trained as a nurse. I worked in the local QEH hospital and loved nursing and I couldn’t believe it when I had to resign to start afresh! I felt bewildered but deep down it was God’s call that I knew it would be ok. He had turned around my life so many times and I had seen his faithfulness all through.
Training in St Augustine’s College was the best thing ever! They offered personal tailored pathways that suited my family needs. Meeting students was a great experience as they brought vast richness and different life experiences. It was not unusual to be sitting with a student in class and the next time you will see them upfront teaching another module! It was a great mix.
Life as a deacon has been anything but boring! It was a great shift from intense theological learning to be out in the ministry. It’s been exciting, challenging, and sometimes slow. I have learnt the joys of waiting around, moving tables, conversations, parish visits, sharing in joys and sadness in all aspects of life.
The best experiences have involved working in schools covering chaplaincy, after-school pick up for children who sing in the choirs and singing along with them has been an exciting new experience. Pastoral visits, giving communion at home, week day mass, summer camp in Cambridge and liturgical experiences.
There have been challenging times as each day is different and brings its own complexities. This is a work in progress as I learn to prioritize and constantly evaluate my time to create a good life balance.
Being ordained has enabled me to be more visible, the ‘dog collar’ being a subject for conversations wherever I go. Just this week my Training Incumbent and I were asked by some workmen what’s the difference between a vicar and a woman priest? It was a great opportunity for a chat. This collar is a constant reminder of whom I represent, Christ and his mission.
Looking ahead as I prepare for my priesthood ordination, I am grateful for the many people God has used to bring me to this point. My training incumbent Revd Mark is a God send and has helped me with great patience, to settle in the role. The people of St John the Divine have welcomed me and cheered me along in so many ways. I’m very grateful. Serving as a Priest is an honour and privilege, to be at the centre of God’s people in their times of greatest need, joy and fears is sacrificial, exhausting and yet so rewarding. I thank God for this opportunity and continually pray for wisdom and understanding. God has allowed me to be used as his vessel and I look forward to doing this for his honour and glory.
The Revd Ed Veale, Pioneer Assistant Curate at Holy Trinity, Clapham writes…
In the ordination service in the Book of Common Prayer, which has been passed down the centuries from Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, now on to us, the ordaining Bishops reminds the Deacons who are being ordained as Priests of the vision for Anglican priesthood: “And now again we exhort you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you have in remembrance, into how high a dignity, and to how weighty an office and charge ye are called: that is to say, to be messengers, watchmen, and stewards of the Lord; to teach and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family; to seek for Christ’s sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever.” On 1 July, at the ordination of Priests in the Diocese, similar words from Common Worship were said by the ordaining bishops throughout the Diocese.
These are heartening, anchoring, envisioning words indeed about what it is to serve the bride and body of Christ as a pastor-priest. Nearly four years ago, on a bright September afternoon, in one of my first classes at theological college, my fellow ordinands and I had these words read to us. I can still remember the hair standing on the back of my neck, as we were struck again by the sheer privilege of serving as an under-shepherd of Christ’s precious flock, for whom He shed his blood and in whom He dwells by His life-transforming Spirit. As a soon-to-be priest, I am so looking forward to the gift of being able to nourish His people not only by the Word, but now also with the Sacraments – what Cranmer called “God’s promises clothed in action.” It is a great honour, in a small way, to help at Holy Communion, the meal where Jesus himself feeds us afresh with his grace, forgiveness and love.
Southwark is also the home (from the 1960s) of the ‘worker-priest’ movement – well ahead of the times! – and so, as someone who still works in the world of social housing legal practice, it is wonderful to be honouring that Diocesan heritage of chipping away at the so-called ‘sacred-secular divide.’ If the risen Jesus Christ is Lord of all our lives and all spheres of society, then it is a great calling as a priest to seek to equip all God’s people for being fruitful with and for Jesus on their daily frontlines, beyond the walls of a church building. In the words of one of my heroes, the late Revd Dr John Stott, who wrote thirty years ago that, “there is a crying need for Christians to see their daily work as their primary Christian ministry and who determine to penetrate secular environment for Christ.” I look forward to continue urging fellow Christians in that endeavour.
A daunting journey lies ahead in moving from deacon to priest, no doubt, with ups and downs, hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, as there is for any believer. But I am spurred on, amidst the unknowns, with a truth which I pray we may grow ever deeper in enjoying: What a strong, loyal, ever-kind Shepherd we have in Jesus Christ, who walks not just ahead but alongside; there is in Him a sweet confidence like nothing else! As the hymn-writer John Newton put it: “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear.” What a beautiful invitation for us new priests to rest in Him, the Great Priest. We may, for a season, be given the task of being an under-shepherd – yet what a relief that we are ourselves, are – and ever will be – but simple sheep ourselves; known, loved and held by the True Shepherd who laid down His life (John 10:14) for His precious flock.
