Robin and friends after the service
On July 5th 2009 our minister, Robin Selmes, was ordained in Worcester Cathedral and accepted as a fully qualified minister in the Methodist Church. Quite a few of us travelled up to Worcester for the occasion and found it a very moving experience. Robin and Dave Sergeant share their experiences here of this very special day.
Dave Sergeant's perspective:
I was lucky to obtain a ticket for the service, and not having been to such a service before was not sure what to expect.
After a quick lunch our group left Bracknell around 1pm and after a short delay on the M4 arrived in Worcester shortly after 3pm. The cathedral car park seemed full of Methodists and on entering the cathedral we found it already filling up with over an hour to go.
Inside the cathedral with the President
A quick look through the Order of Service told me it would not be a short service, and the notes on the back cover gave me more information about what ordination services are about. A total of 13 new ministers were to be ordained, each with an 'Assisting Minister'. The service was led by the Methodist President Revd. David Gamble and the Vice-President and Secretary were also there. And what a wonderful service it was, Charles Wesley hymns sung by a congregation of nearly 1000 beneath that magnificent vaulted roof is an experience you cannot express in words. The address was given by the outgoing Vice-President David Walton.
During the ordination itself the President laid his hands on each ordinand in turn, together with his Assisting Minister and a World Church Representative, representing the real personal and spiritual connections that are both remembered and made anew. Afterwards we all celebrated communion, served from several stations around the cathedral with enormous loaves of bread, while the ordinands and their guests received the elements at the communion rail.
At the end of the service, which took around 2 hours, we were invited to follow the ministers to the Cathedral green, but we realised that the weather had turned against us and it was literally bucketing down. So many of us stayed a while inside and had a chance for a talk with Robin. Once the rain had stopped we ventured outside for some photos, then made our way home. After stopping for a bite to eat on the way I finally arrived home around 10.30pm after a very memorable day.
Robin's perspective:
I am the sort of person who has a tendency to look back after an event and find all manner of ways to have made it better. A few weeks ago a minister told me to enjoy ordination to the full, because it was a once in a lifetime event. As I sit to write this, it is about one week since the day of my ordination and it was one of those perfect days when even I wouldn't have changed one thing.
Firstly, a number of people have asked me why I had to go all the way to Worcester to be ordained. The answer is that every year The Methodist Church holds an annual Conference somewhere in the country and all the ordinations happen during that Conference. This year, Conference just happened to be in Wolverhampton. There were about 55 new ministers being ordained and unfortunately they could not fit into one venue, so we were all divided up into different church locations according to the college we attended during training, so for Queens College Birmingham this was Worcester cathedral.
The day was split into two parts, firstly the morning conference worship, where we were 'received into full connexion' at Wolverhampton Civic centre. The service was a very moving occasion, particularly as we were each called by name and walked onto the platform to be received into the full connexion of the Methodist Church. It was here that the conference via a standing vote affirms your calling, it is only from this that the church is obliged to ordain us. Alongside this we made our first vows committing us to the life of ministry within the Methodist Church.
At the end of the service we processed back out of the conference centre with the president and vice president. A short break in the proceedings followed which allowed all the ordinands to meet with their friends and family. It was a great joy to spend a few minutes with them before we were hurried off to Worcester for the Ordination service.
I joined 12 other ordinands and their supporting ministers for another round of briefing for what would happen to us during the afternoon. Before the service began I had a little time to spare to take in the atmosphere and to greet people as they gathered in every corner of this sacred space. As I continued to wander It felt like every corner was telling a story creating a sense of awe and wonder and then it was time.
The afternoon was a very powerful and emotional time; particularly when we turned and faced the packed Cathedral of almost 1000 people and they said in one voice "They are worthy" I felt the shivers in my spine and the lump in my throat. This was the pinnacle of five years training and a lifetime's preparation. During the service I was ordained by the laying on of hands and was presented with a Bible to commemorate the occasion. The service reached its climax as the whole congregation shared in communion and I was privileged to be joined at the table by members of my family including my two children.
The journey to ordination is one that each individual takes with the support of their Church and of many friends and family. As such I am grateful for all the support, kindness and tolerance that has been shown to me. May I take this opportunity to thank everyone for your love and prayers.
Claire and Robin before the service
Prior to the Ordination a Testimony Service for Robin and Revd Claire Hargreaves was held on Sunday 17th May 2009 at Knaphill Methodist Church. The preacher was the Revd John Hellyer, Chairman of the South East District of the Methodist Church. Music was led by a worship group which included several members of Claire's family. During the service Claire and Robin shared their Testimony, we heard two very different stories delivered in different styles This was a memorable occasion for both circuits as it gave them an opportunity to celebrate with their ordinand and to send them on their way with God's blessing.
