Ordained Ministry
If you believe God may be calling you towards Ordained Ministry then the first step is to share your thoughts and feelings with people you know and trust. Can they see this vocation in you? You should also have a conversation with your parish priest.
Before you can enter the formal process of discerning a call to Ordained Ministry you will need a referral from the incumbent (parish priest with overall responsibility) of the church where you worship, who should have known you for a minimum period of six months. (In cases where your parish is in vacancy, other arrangements for referral will be made. Contact us for details).
Your vocation to the priesthood needs to be realistic, obedient and informed so a good place to start the journey is our Shared Vocation Space – a programme running from September through to Easter each year.
The Discernment Journey
The journey is challenging, stimulating and extremely thorough. It looks for evidence of your spiritual and personal development over a period of time, and involves reading, reflection and the fulfilment of a number of activities. It asks you difficult questions and explores patterns of relationships and behaviours right back to your early childhood.
We aim to be as inclusive as possible and do not seek to put artificial barriers in front of anyone whom we discern to be called to priesthood. We acknowledge that the exploration can make considerable demands and we aim to support you as much as we possibly can.
Once you have had a conversation with your incumbent, if they sense the call to ordained ministry in you, they will put you in touch with the Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) for an initial meeting. Possible outcomes are:
assignment to an Assistant DDO (or to the DDO) for one-to-one discernment
recommendation to attend the Shared Vocation Space programme before entering formal discernment
recommendation to wait until more experience of the Anglican church has been gained
recommendation to consider other vocational pathways
The Shared Discernment Process
The discernment process is both searching and supportive. Over a period of at least a year, or maybe longer, you will be prepared for the new Shared Discernment Process, a two-stage journey which replaces the old system of a single Bishop’s Advisory Panel.
The Shared Discernment Process is divided into two stages:
Stage 1: Carousel Conversations
Stage 2: Residential selection panel
To prepare for these, you will meet regularly with your (A)DDO and your incumbent, go on a placement, take part in the ‘Preparing Together’ group and commit to reading about ordained ministry, journalling and talking to people with whom you will be put in touch. You will need to have a well-established daily discipline of prayer and Bible reading to sustain and inspire you through this journey.
The Church of England uses six Discernment Qualities; you will be expected to show evidence of how you inhabit these qualities all the way through your discernment journey. The qualities are:
Love for God
Love for People
Call to Ministry
Wisdom
Potential
Fruitfulness
The Shared Discernment Process is both active and passive: active because there is a lot to do – it involves a significant time commitment and a commitment to learn and grow – and passive, because you offer yourself to be discerned by those who share in this ministry with the Bishop. If you embark on this journey, along the way you will meet with your Bishop who will decide whether to sponsor you through the Shared Discernment Process and ultimately, whether to ordain you. You will be held in prayer and supported by the Vocations Team, and if the Church feels that is the vocation to which God is calling you, you will train for ministry before ordination as a deacon and priest. It can be intimidating to think about setting out on such a journey, but the God who calls also equips, befriends and empowers us in ways that we could never imagine. May God bless and lead you as you consider your own calling.
Further enquiries: email lucy.dallas@dioceseofnorwich.org
