It was a long journey but I made it…at last!

Rupert shares the days leading up to his ordination on 4^th July this year

I had been warned that the months leading up to my ordination would be hectic. They were not wrong!

Firstly there were the numerous forms to be completed, the Criminal Record Check and the certificates to be sent off to prove my qualifications, baptism and confirmation. Then there were the robes to be ordered and the measurements to be sent off to the makers in Newcastle plus an article to write about myself for the Wey. Then there were meetings! – an appraisal with my course Principal and interviews with the Bishop and the Archdeacon – just to check I was safe to ordain! All this was happening at the same time as writing two essays for my ministry course, my full time job which is highly pressurised at this time of year as it deals with the summer’s GCSE and A Level marking, and my broken collar bone, for which I had an operation just five days before my ordination!

One of the high points leading up to my ordination was an invitation to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s garden party on 18 June. This was for all those being ordained that year. It was an ideal opportunity to look around Lambeth Palace and visit the library which had a number of ancient bibles and other historical books. The grounds were amazing and this was matched by a delicious tea served in a large marquee in the gardens. We met Rowan and his wife, both of who were very friendly and unassuming

Ordination week started with the operation to repair my broken collar bone, and on the Thursday my wife Jane and I with the other ordinands and their partners, were invited for lunch at the Bishop of Guildford’s House (Willow Grange). After lunch, we ordinands said good-bye to our partners and went off to Guildford cathedral for a rehearsal of the ordination service. We all changed into our cassocks and were all rather anxious we would trip over them as they were very long. My sore shoulder and sling made getting changed quite difficult but I was surrounded by willing helpers who were a tremendous support throughout the whole process which was particularly exhausting so soon after my operation. We were then led around the Cathedral and shown where we needed to stand and what we needed to do. It was all very complicated; even one of the Cathedral stewards got confused! We just hoped we would remember everything and not make total fools of ourselves

We then went to St Columbas, a retreat house in Woking, where we would stay until the Sunday morning.. Each day we had an address from a speaker and then had most of the day to ourselves – to read, pray and sleep! It was a very special time spiritually but also provided an opportunity to rest from all the pressures of the last few months. During this time we slowly began to realise the enormity of our call and that we would be leaving the relative safety of being a layperson to become a member of those strange looking people with dog collars – the clergy. This became more of a reality when on the morning of our ordination, we came down to breakfast wearing our clerical shirts and dog collars. This felt very strange but exciting at the same time. We had to be at the Cathedral an hour before the service to get robed and take our oaths of allegiance to the Crown and the Bishop! The service was a very special and moving experience and wonderful to have family and friends supporting. My call for the ordained ministry which had probably began when I was teaching in the mid-1970s, had at last come to fruition…35 years later

What now?

I’m now strictly speaking a Curate, and will work alongside Frank and Patrick, but as I am a locally ordained minister I am only licensed to serve at Emmanuel Church so I cannot preach or take services at other churches without permission from the Bishop. At present I am a deacon but next July I will be made a priest in another service at Guildford Cathedral. This will mean that I will be authorised to take communion services and conduct marriages

I would like to say a very big thank you for everyone’s prayers, good wishes and support over these last few years

Christian Aid’s work amongst the world’s poor may have to be curtailed. Daleep Mukarji, Director of Christian Aid writing to supporting churches says “Our income has been seriously affected by the recession and we do not currently have enough funds to support all the people we’d planned to in 2010. I want to reassure you that I have done all I can to avoid the recession impacting on our work with the world’s poorest people…At least 80% of our income, one of the highest percentages of any charity, goes toward our vital work to end poverty. In addition, throughout this year, I have made cutbacks such as limiting all but the most essential travel and, sadly I have also had to make some staff redundancies. All this in a bid to minimise the impact on the world’s poorest people. But, with unfavourable exchange rates and fewer donations, our funds are still falling short.

If things don’t change, we will have to make impossible decisions about who to stop helping. What distresses me most of all is that people are being hit by a recession they didn’t cause and are defenceless to stop. Struggling families that were already living below the poverty line in the world’s poorest communities have been hit by rocketing fuel and food prices, and they have seen the value of their earnings plummet. Though the recession is affecting many individuals and families here and many organisations including Christian Aid, as always the poorest are the hardest hit.”

Christian Aid week relies heavily on funds raised during Christian Aid week which this year is May 9th-15th. During that week all over the country, there is a house-to-house collection. Each year a small number of people from Emmanuel volunteer to collect for Christian Aid. Each year we collect about £2000. If more people could give up just a few hours to collect we could raise more money which is so desperately needed. Please consider helping. Please pray for this year’s collection and for generous giving. Pray for those who work for Christian Aid, for those who have to make difficult decisions about its work and pray especially for those who depend on Christian Aid’s help.

On Saturday 1st May, you are invited to coffee at the Vicarage at 10.30am. This is NOT a fund-raising event, but a chance to be inspired by the work of Christian Aid. Please come if you can. We have raised funds during the year for Christian Aid, more are always welcome! Thank-you to all who came to the Lent lunches. We were able to send £128 to Christian Aid’s workers in Haiti.

As David was saying at the last Parade Service, some of the older Brownies had the chance to go to Butlins at Bognor for a weekend in January. It is the Centenary of the Guide Movement, and this was one of the ways of having fun.

Can you imagine 4800 Brownies and Leaders from the whole of London and the South East in one place? There was just enough space at Butlins for us all.

There were outdoor activities like a bug hunt, ball games, funfair rides, and a beach visit, which nearly blew us away. It was Saturday, the day it rained-it was high tide, and the waves were enormous. Of course we had to play chase the waves, and of course there were some wet shoes, socks and trousers, but it was such fun.

Indoors, there was all sorts of craft, face painting, bowling, and a big play area. And there was a shop… Butlins people didn’t realise the spending habits of small girls with a few pounds in their pockets and a determination to spend it all. The queues were enormous!!

There were shows; a disco, a Redcoat show and a great Centenary show with flashbacks to the very early days. We didn’t tell the parents what time we got to bed, but it wasn’t very early! We had a great game of bowling and the highlight for lots of the Brownies was our time in Splash World the big leisure pool. There were waves, rapids, flumes and a space bowl, (ask the girls about that one).

We had great food, and Melissa had her birthday celebrated with Cindy Centipede and the whole restaurant singing to her at breakfast.

This was the second Centenary event we took part in, back in September the launch party was called Wet ‘n’ Wacky, it was at Imber Court, Molesey, and was great fun. Next month there is a Voyage Round the World event at Charterhouse, celebrating the Guide movement around the world. It certainly is a great year for Guiding.