As you might expect, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting recently – particularly about the new role I’m coming into, the new (to me) area, and about where I fit. In fact, the new role isn’t entirely new, as I covered for the Archdeacon of Bradford when he had a sabbatical a couple of years ago – so I do arrive with some basic understanding of what it entails. But the Wakefield Episcopal area, which as well as the city and environs of Wakefield includes much of Barnsley, the Five Towns of Pontefract, Castleford, Knottingley, Featherstone and Normanton, and Ossett, and more, is entirely new to me.
And this has been discombobulating, to say the least. I have lived and worked in the Bradford area for the last 20 years of my life. I know where things are. I know how long it takes to get from place A to place B, and which roads I need to take – and which to avoid! I know where the good shops are, which the good restaurants and cafes are, and I know – I think I’m right in saying this – all of the clergy in that area, and which church they are attached to.
This isn’t the case in Wakefield. Although I quickly got used to finding my way to B&Q, Sainsburys, the Area Office, and the Bishop of Wakefield’s House, for many of my other meetings, introductions and church services I have been absolutely relying on satnav. A common refrain in my car at the moment is ‘there’s a church…..THAT looks like a vicarage – I must be here!’
It has been a valuable reminder against being self-reliant. Recently I was at the Ordination of Deacons service at Ripon Cathedral, and I heard all the Deacons-to-be make their promises with the words ‘with the help of God, I will’. Just as I can’t find my way to a vicarage in the east of the Episcopal Area without the help of my satnav, and just as the Deacons will not be able to carry out their ministry without the help of God, neither can I. And every day I come back to this truth: that all I ever do or can ever hope to do can only be in the strength of God.
So thank you to everyone in the Wakefield area for your warm welcome (and navigational tips). And thanks and praise for God’s constant, unfailing love and support. With – and only with – the help of God, I will.