Ordained Ministry in the Diocese of Bangor
Following God's call as you start the selection process to the priesthood
Pastoral selectors will be assessing your ability to get on with people. A pastor requires certain social skills. Can you sympathise with others in need? How prepared are you to enable others realise their God-given potential in mission and ministry? They will want to know a bit about you, and try and get an idea of what makes you tick.
Educational selectors will want to gauge your potential to learn about the faith and ability to communicate your faith effectively. They will almost certainly want to know about some of the books you have been reading recently.
Much of the priest's ministry is educational, and much of the priest's training theological. Educational selectors will want to know whether you have the potential to learn and teach others.
Do not worry! No-one is a finished product. The key word is 'potential'. We do not expect you to have all the answers, but we would expect you to be aware of some of the questions.
In the Church in Wales all ordinands commit themselves to ministering in the Province for at least five years after training. Because of the nature of the diocese we only sponsor candidates for the stipendiary ministry if they are prepared to learn Welsh, as all of the training parishes except one, and the vast majority of all parishes, are bilingual. For our part, we resource language training.
In order to minister effectively here it is important to have a good understanding of, and sympathy to- wards, our context and culture. It is also vital to have a sense of humour and an ability to appreciate the joys and withstand the frustrations of parish life. We are also committed to the development and encouragement of the ministry and mission of all God's people, lay and ordained. We are a small, friendly diocese. The Bishop, his staff and officers are approachable and supportive.
Each person's journey through the process will be different. More often than not candidates are asked to undertake some preparation, sometimes in the form of guided reading or regular meetings with an experienced parish priest to explore topics such as prayer, the Eucharist or priesthood.
The preparation you undertake is as vital as that decision to offer yourself for ordination in the first place. Listen to the feedback you are given from the Warden of Ordinands and the Bishop and ask for the help or advice you feel you need.
Read these books!
- Francis Dewar, Called or Collared - SPCK 2000
- Steven Croft, Ministry in Three Dimensions - DLI 1999
- Following your Vocation in the Church of England - Church House Publishing 2000
- Stephen Cotterell, Prayer Through Life - National Society / Hodder and Stoughton 1990
- Robin Greenwood, Practising Community - SPCK 1996