We have a number of forthcoming events in the life of our Diocese which mark the beginning of exciting new ministries.
While everyone is welcome at all these services of Licensing and Ordination, I understand that not everyone can come to everything! Even if you are unable to attend, I invite us all to hold the following in prayer:
Tuesday 26 September at 7.30 pm, St Columba’s, Arbory: Please pray for The Revd Simon Archer as he is licensed as Priest-in-Charge of Arbory & Castletown. We pray for Simon, Tasha and their children as they begin their new life and settle into home and school on our Island; we pray for the Parish and its people and the ministry team with whom Simon will be working.
Saturday 30 September at 3.00 pm, Kirk Michael: Please pray for Joanna Fisher as she is ordained as a Deacon in the Church of God. We give thanks for Revd Jeanette and the Parish of Kirk Michael, in which Joanna’s vocation has been nurtured and nourished; we pray for Revd Daniel and the Parish of Braddan, in which Joanna will serve; we pray for Joanna’s husband Stephen and their adult children at this moment in their life as a family.
Tuesday 10 October at 7.30 pm, St Mary’s, Ballasalla: Please pray for The Revd Ruth Walker as she is licensed as Priest-in-Charge of Malew & Santan. We give thanks for Ruth’s ministry at the Cathedral over these past years, and we pray for her as she takes on new responsibilities and opportunities; we pray for the Parish of Malew & Santan, for its people, and for the congregations of its four churches.
Saturday 14 October at 3.00 pm, St Ninian’s, Douglas: Please pray for Steve Hull and Chris Wildman as they are licensed as Readers. We pray for St Thomas’, Douglas, and the congregation of St Ninian’s known as ‘Sundays at Ten’, in which respectively they will serve. Please pray too for Jo Hartley, to be licensed as Reader in this diocese following her ministry as Reader in the Diocese of Blackburn, and for the Parish of Ramsey and the North-East in which she will serve. We give thanks for the parishes and congregations in which these vocations have been nurtured and sustained, and we pray for their continuing life of faith and for the ministry teams in which our new Readers will share.
While we normally ordain at Michaelmas, it is unusual to have such a sequence of joyful occasions as this! Joanna, Chris and Steve are our first graduates of Emmanuel College, and we give thanks for the training and formation that they have received there. Most of all, we praise God for calling them, together with Ruth, Simon and Jo, to serve in our midst, and we rejoice in this wonderful gift of grace.
+ Peter
