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Jobsworth
At my time of life I cannot even contemplate looking for another parochial appointment. This will disappoint some people and fill others with despair. It shouldn't. There are so many clergy vacancies in this part of the world, either existing or expected, that the chances of receiving a replacement for me are very slim indeed. Nevertheless, I still read the situations vacant pages in the Church Times. In so doing I came across an advertisement for a post at the Church of Christ the Carpenter. Now there is an interesting concept!
We think of Christ the King, or Jesus the Lord, or even, at this time of the year, the Christ Child, but remembering him as a carpenter is unusual. Why should it be?
There is a common misconception that priests have been in Holy Orders since before they started shaving. That includes the women. I don't know of many who have spent their entire lives in the ministry. I cut my teeth as an Ammunition Technician in the former Royal Army Ordnance Corps. The commentary on the Cenotaph service on Remembrance Sunday described it as being the most dangerous job in the army. At the time I would have questioned that but, looking back, it was a bit hairy. That was followed by a short spell doing such interesting things as climbing up smoke stacks at ICI, at considerable risk to life and limb, taking samples for analysis. Finally, I became a secondary school teacher in Middlesbrough. That was really frightening.
Nowhere in the Gospels do we see Jesus described as a carpenter but he must have done something before his ministry began. We, clergy and laity alike, are all the same, multiskilled. We have to be. The situation is so dire that clergy have to put their hands to jobs that the laity used to do, and vice-versa. The Vicar cannot spend all week in his study thinking of improving sermons, nor can the lay people sit back in their pews and relax, go home, and forget about the mission of the church. Our life experiences are to equip us for that mission. Jesus was a working man. His disciples were working men. They used their knowledge of what it is like to be out there in the real world to great effect. So do we all, except that I don't have much cause to blow things up now.
May God bless you all, Fr Allan
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