Monday, November 2, 2009

Going Back?

On Friday afternoon Mrs Velkyal had an audition for a choir being put together to do Carmina Burana, something she had sung when she was back in university. The audition took place in one of the local Episcopal churches, the Church of our Saviour (I was intrigued that it was spelt with a u rather than without). I can't  remember why I tagged along, probably I was bored witless and starting to feel the effects of cabin fever. While I waited in the church lobby, I got talking to a lady there, who asked me a question which has come up several times since I moved to the USA. Almost without fail when a person discovers I have a degree in Theology and trained with the ministry before moving to Prague, they ask "do you think you will ever go back?".

At the moment there is really only one honest answer to that question: I simply don't know if I would go back, and I am not even convinced that I would make a good vicar/priest/pastor/insert denominational leadership bias here. Sure I am a decent enough communicator, but sometimes I wonder if I am too obviously flawed as a person to be the kind of shepherd that a lot of people seem to want, and I quite often wonder if there exists a church daft enough to have me, even if I did go back.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi It's Bob cooper. My Grandfather was a lay preacher with the Industrial Christian fellowship and so he never got his degree in theology but he would have said that it was precisely your knowledge of the weaknesses that human flesh is heir to that make you suitable for ministry. Why not start your own church?

Unknown said...

Yes, that's it! Big AL our saviour!!! Hail AL! Hail AL! :-)
BTW, Carmina Burana is fab and must be even fabber to sing in! So good luck to Mrs VelkyAl