Rabbit in the Headlights

It's odd, starting to blog, pretty sure in the knowledge that no-one is likely to read it.  So, allow me to introduce myself dear non-reader.  I am an ordinand in the Church of England. For those of you who don't have a clue what that means, I am training to be a vicar.  I am going to keep my identity secret - not because I have a thing about Zorro but because, like one of the best church bloggers around - the Church Mouse - I think it allows me more scope to say what I think rather than say what I think the Church wants me to think, if that makes sense.  Please be assured I  have no axe to grind, and no agenda beyond thinking that it might be useful for the Church to have a "worm's eye view" of itself, from someone who is totally committed to joining it, but is struggling to navigate through it.

I am really really excited about joining the Church.  I will blog about my calling further down the line, but suffice it to say that I am absolutely convinced that God wants me to be ordained.  But the truth is I still have no idea what I am joining.  I meet extraordinary and wonderful vicars and lay people, from every branch of the Church, all the time but no-one seems to be able to get on with each other.  Here's a thought - perhaps homosexual bishops and Women bishops (more in my next on both) aren't the main issue.  Perhaps the main issue is the fact that through many years of growling at each other, different branches of the Church are unwilling or unable to get on.  In a country where Christianity is so obviously under attack from overt secularism and Church attendance (particularly by the young) is plummeting, if we can't be nice to each other, what hope is there?    I am as happy in an Anglo Catholic mass as I am at a Charismatic worship service.  I love liturgy as much as I love modern worship songs.  I believe the Eucharist is central to a congregation's life.  Most importantly I respect other people's right to worship God in any way they feel helps them to connect to him.....and that is why I belong to the Universal Church.