Jessica Baxter will be ordained in June to become Assistant Curate at St Margaret’s church in Old Catton. This is Jessica’s story of her journey to faith and ordination.
What did your journey to faith look like?
My journey to faith was the scenic route, more of a wilderness path than a straightforward A road. There has been a lot of searching and seeking and God not letting go of me.
What was your route to ministry?
As you might expect from the wilderness road, the call to ordination was also messy. I would describe it as being in the soil. The call to ordination came after a lot of deep work going on going on, whereby when Christ actually made the call – come to church and be a priest – it was really almost like the last part of a long, sometimes difficult journey towards the light. The calling has come as a moment of blossoming and bursting through the soil really – into the glorious light.
What are you looking forward to in your new role?
I cannot wait to meet the people, I can’t wait to be part of the community, to go to the pub, be at the schools, see what God’s already doing and play my part in listening, praying and growing with people. I’m just so keen to be with people and seeing what the Spirit is already doing and how we can use our hands to join in with God’s.
What is your advice to anyone exploring a vocation to ministry?
My advice for anyone exploring a calling is that there’s a big difference between stalling and discernment. If God’s put a call on your life, God will provide, will equip, so I would say leap, leap before you can work out whether you should, trust and jump. There are so many people here to support and equip you and empower you to make that journey. You don’t have to do it on your own, talk to someone, share the calling.