Andrew Bigg Second Year Ordinand, Diocese of Southwark
Could you say something about what you were doing before coming to Mirfield?
After completing a Masters in Theoretical Physics at Oxford I decided to take a post-university gap year in order to give me some time to explore a sense of vocation to the ordained ministry.
After some parish placements, a year working on the staff at a retreat and training centre in Southwark Diocese and four and a half months completing a language diploma I finally got to a Bishop's Advisory Panel and from there to Mirfield.
How did you recognize the call from God to ordained ministry?
Before arriving at university I would have said I believed in God, read the Bible and prayed, but nothing more spiritually or vocationally expressive than that.
Oxford introduced me to a huge variety of churches and types of people attending them within a very compact city centre including of course the college chapels. I quickly became involved in Church activities and ended up at one place of worship in particular whose clergy impressed me sufficiently to ask myself, without any pressure placed upon me to do so, whether I could do the same.
After nearly three years exploring, and a couple of unfulfilled temptations to drop the idea and do something else, I eventually found my way here to the College of the Resurrection.
Why did you choose to come to the College of the Resurrection?
The sharing of various aspects of common and worship life with the Community of the Resurrection attracted me. On top of this it seemed just the right size for me because I generally prefer slightly smaller communities and other colleges seemed more impersonal.
What do you feel you have gained from the experience of living a common life in College?
To be in an environment in which I am living right beside others with a similar purpose and sense of vocation but with a very different history has been highly encouraging. It is very distinct from the experience of university. There are few better ways of really getting to know what makes people to be who they are.
What course are you doing, and what are you enjoying most in your studies at the moment?
As a three-year student I am currently in my second year of a two-year BA with a view to starting an MA next year. My favourite courses at present are the Greek Texts module and Ecclesiology.
How do you feel your placements are helping prepare for priestly ministry?
My most helpful placement so far has been at a hospice over the long vacation, when I had plenty of time to get the most out of it. It was a totally new experience right out of my normal 'zone' of operation but invaluable for getting to grips with the variety of challenges in the daily life of a priest.