Today at St David's we said goodbye to our Curate, Maria. She has been with us for three-and-a-half years, having started in that period in 2008 when Paul was coming along to St David's and I was still involved in the University Chapel. Therefore, she has always been a big part of my church life at St David's.
Over the last three-and-a-half years I have come to admire Maria immensely. She is everything, I believe, an ordained person should be. She has a phenomenal conviction in her views, not all of which are completely orthodox, but I love that about her. When she presides it is clear that this is not just another 'vicar-going-through-the-motions' but someone with a vibrant, living faith who does not take her position as priest for granted. Alongside this she is a real people-person, with a particular knack for working with children and for recognising and encouraging the gifts of everyone. If I am even slightly like her when I am ordained I will have been very well trained indeed!
Another thing that was notable about this morning's service was that my selection was announced. I was humbled by the applause and the number of people - not all of whom I know very well - who came up to congratulate me. And it struck me, perhaps for the first time, that Paul and I will shortly be leaving St David's, and that's a really sad thought. Maria's sermon today was about the 'communion of saints' - the idea that when we come together to worship in church and to take the Eucharist we cease to be individuals and become the body of Christ - together in communion with all Christians across the world and all throughout history. She talked about the site of our building, where Christians have worshipped for 100s of years, and this made me think (among others things) about the transitory nature of churchgoing. St David's feels like home, and yet I have been only coming here for 3 or so years. Maria feels entwined in the life of the church, and yet she has only been Curate for a moment in the church's long history. Some people will attend the same church for all of their lives, they will see the community change and grow, and others will be part of church communities for only short periods of times - to contribute in their own little way and then to move on. I realised this morning that, like Maria, in the Vocation I am following I will always fall into this latter category.
In other news, I met with Becky on Thursday and was given my copy of the BAP report. Becky told me it is an unusually positive report, which was nice. They said my presentation was "disappointing" but other than that it was all OK. The surprise of the morning was that they have recommended me as a 'Potential Theological Educator' which means I am able to apply for extra funding so I can stay on at college for an extra year and do a higher qualification, an MPhil rather than an MA perhaps. I'm surprised and delighted about this, although I'm not sure how I feel about training for 3 years rather than the 2 I was expecting. Of all the things I am looking forward to about the future, getting another academic qualification does figure on my list, but not particularly highly. I'll give it some thought.
And the house - well, still not sold, but Paul did spot a couple today who pulled up in our road, got out of their car and stood gazing at it for a bit before pulling away. And we had a viewing last week and another on Wednesday. So, fingers crossed. I mean, hands together, prayerfully!
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