June is going to be a busy month. Not only are we in the throes of a general election campaign, but it is also Ordination month. (And I daren’t mention the Euros …)
At Petertide, I will ordain deacons at Ripon Cathedral and the area bishops will ordain priests in their episcopal areas. What unites these two things - an election and the ordinations - is that both will involve change.
It is vital in a participatory democracy that citizens get out and vote. I hope that everyone will take this responsibility seriously this month. Citizenship brings responsibility as well as privilege, and moaning about governments cannot be legitimate if we fail to influence government direction and policy by voting.
Those being ordained have already accepted the fact that change can be personally costly … and that being an ordained person lays one open to all sorts of public judgment. So, I encourage you to pray for our new deacons and priests as they feel their way into a new way of living and ministering in and through the Church of England in our vast range of contexts.
They exercise their ministry at a time of enormous challenge. Yet, challenge is not something that in our diocese is either novel or unwelcome.
This year we celebrate our tenth anniversary, recalling the birth pangs from 2014 onwards, but also looking forward to a future in which we continue to take responsibility for shaping the church for both the present and the future.
If the country needs refreshed vision and direction - whoever gets into government - then so does the Church as we live in a testing world at a testing time in history.
I am personally deeply grateful to all those who bravely did what no other diocese(s) has dared to do, and let some things die in order to shape something new. A number of faithful and committed people at every level of diocesan life bear the scars of our loving, living and learning. We learned together from both challenge and encouragement. I pray that this will continue into our next ten years as we grow confident Christians who grow our local parish churches and seek to transform our local communities with the motivating grace and love of God in Jesus Christ.
Presence and participation are central aspects of our Church of England Christianity. And the principles that inspire such commitment might also be evident in our exercise of civic duty on 4 July.