Spotlight on Vocations
As we approach Vocations Sunday on 11th May, we're talking to some of those around the diocese who are embarking on the journey. Here, we hear from Josiah Beynon, a Reader-in-Training in the Clun Valley Benefice.
"My wife started exploring her calling to ordained ministry just after we got married. Over the course of her exploration, which included an internship with Hereford Diocese, I was also asked many times if I also felt called to become a vicar. Every time, I responded absolutely not. The role didn’t seem to fit me and I had interest in pursuing it.
"However, I was still very active in church. Over the years, I’ve helped lead services, install prayer rooms, lead bible studies etc. But all of these were done under someone else's role and authority.
"As my wife was coming towards the end of her curacy, we were beginning to think about what ministry would look like in her new rural parishes. At the same time, I was exploring five-fold ministries (Ephesians 4:11) as a participant in a bible study. I still felt like ordained ministry wasn’t my calling, but also knew that I did have a calling to be part of the ministry of her churches. I didn’t think it was healthy to do this through her authority (i.e. on the authority of being the Vicar’s Spouse). I needed my own role to work from.
"I mentioned this to my wife who asked “Why don’t you become a Reader?”. And something clicked. My Grandad had been a reader for over 50 years, and we’d had long conversations about how he enjoyed the particulars of that ministry which suited him much better than ordination. Similarly, being a reader seemed to be the perfect balance for me. I would be trained and therefore have more to give. I’d be licensed and therefore have an authority to act from, as well as being under authority that supports me. And I’ll be able to minister alongside my wife, without as much pressure to always be celebrating communion at opposite ends of the patch.
"Since beginning training, lots of people have asked me if I’m going to “go to the next level” of ordination, as if it’s a ladder to climb. But, for me, that would be moving in the wrong direction. Reader ministry will allow me to do all the things I feel called to, while having less pressure to do those which I know are not in my skill sets or interest. In many ways, I wish someone asked me if I wanted to become a reader many years ago. Though I wonder if God’s hand was saving that until the right moment for us as a family, and for God’s greater plan."
Look out for further vocations stories to come!
- ENDS -