Curate's Log

By the time you are reading this, I will have been ordained priest. It feels both exciting and humbling to reach this point, and it has prompted me to reflect on my first year as a curate, serving as a deacon.

A few weeks ago, I preached a sermon about the Holy Spirit's job description. It was a light-hearted way of exploring a serious question: what exactly does the Holy Spirit do? The answer, of course, is that the Spirit is constantly at work – nudging, guiding, encouraging, connecting people, and often appearing in what we might simply call coincidence.

As I look back over the past year, I realise that my own "job description" as a deacon has felt a little like that. Many people are unsure of the difference between a deacon and a priest, and that's understandable. Traditionally, a deacon's role is to be a bridge between the church and the wider community. Looking back, much of my year has been spent doing exactly that: meeting people, sharing conversations over coffee, visiting schools, supporting community groups, listening to stories, and discovering the many ways God is already at work in people's lives.

One of the greatest privileges has been noticing those moments that seem accidental but somehow turn out to be exactly what was needed. A chance conversation, an unexpected meeting, a word of encouragement offered at just the right moment. I have come to believe that the Holy Spirit often works quietly through these ordinary encounters.

Although I am now a priest, that part of my calling does not disappear. I hope I will always remain a bridge-builder and community listener. Priesthood builds on those foundations rather than replacing them.

One of the most visible differences is that I can now preside at Holy Communion. That feels particularly significant to me because Communion has fascinated me ever since I was a child. I can remember sitting in church, craning my neck to see what was happening at the altar. Some might call that curiosity; others might simply call it being nosey! I was always desperate to know what all the actions meant and why this meal mattered so much.

Years later, I still find myself drawn to that same mystery. The difference is that now I have the extraordinary privilege of standing at the altar myself, taking bread and wine and sharing in that ancient act of worship that has nourished Christians for generations.

I will be presiding and preaching at my first Sunday services as a priest on Sunday 5th July: at 8.00am and 11.00am at St Mary Magdalene, and at 9.30am in Bladon. Whether you are a regular worshipper, have not been to church for a while, or are simply curious about what happens, you would be very welcome to come and join us.

As one chapter closes and another begins, I find myself grateful for all the conversations, encounters and relationships of the past year, and excited to discover where the Holy Spirit might lead next.