Sam Ruddock will be ordained in June, to be Curate at Wymondham Abbey. This is Sam’s story about his route to faith and ordination.
What was your journey to faith?
I never expected to have faith. I grew up in an Atheist family in East London, I had no sense of the spiritual. Until I met and married my wife who is a Christian. She spent the first 10 years of our marriage not trying to convert me, but living out her faith with such integrity, that when my life hit some rocks and I realised I was struggling, I became willing to seek answers I hadn’t taken a look at before. I was sitting at a park in Ipswich on a sunny day in 2017, reading ‘Mere Christianity’ by C.S.Lewis and there was an invitation to look inside yourself to see what you could find. I thought OK, I can relax into this, I don’t need all the knowledge about everything. I really wanted that faith, so I said OK Lord, take me, and it’s been a journey ever since.
What was your calling to ministry?
I had absolutely no expectation of going into ministry but I was really hungry to learn more about my faith so I went along to a discernment group, largely because a reader in my church encouraged me. I went and enjoyed talking to people and found that every time I asked a question, or talked to someone, a little bit of the invisible barrier that I didn’t realise was there, started to fall away and gradually I realised that all my aversion to considering any sort of vocation was around my sense of lacking. Who am I to be called to ministry? Why would God want to use me?
As more people encouraged me, I came to realise more, that some of the skills that I value were perfect for ministry. And I just kept saying yes when people encouraged me to go along to another thing. It’s a joy to be in this place, i just never planned it.
What are you looking forward to in your new role?
I’m looking forward to getting to know a new community, the people in Wymondham and all the joy and challenges. I’m thinking about this curacy as chance to walk with Jesus in his ministry and point people to him.
What advice would you give to others who are thinking about a calling to ministry?
Whether you’re thinking – Is God calling me? Or if you have never considered it, don’t be scared. Don’t think you’re not enough. It’s human to feel that way. God has a history of using the most unexpected people. Every time I ask why me, I just get back the answer – my grace is enough, my power is made perfect in your weakness. Give it a go, you’re already a beautiful child of God, so why can’t you do this?