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Vocation
In John's Gospel, Jesus says to those who are to be his disciples, "Come and see!" and "Follow me!" When we speak of "vocation" it is our way of recognising that the Lord continues to call us to follow him. In answering the call, we are committing ourselves to continuing conversion. There will be a need to let go of some of our past, or to discover new meaning in it, and there will be encounters with much that is entirely new. Growing in discipleship and preparing for ministry depends on a deepening of our life in Christ. One of the chief ways in which we come to understand the task God has for us is by sharing our whole life closely with fellow disciples.
The College believes strongly in an understanding of ministerial priesthood that demands the offering of all that we are and have and do, in order that we may fulfil the call of Christ. Ordination is the definitive moment in a process, a dialogue, between the individual being called to be a priest and God whose call to each of us never ceases. All those who are ordained bear the double responsibility of representing the Church in their words and actions and being an image of Christ in so far as they allow themselves to be shaped by God.
All Christians have a vocation to minister to the world. Some are called to the particular office of ordained ministers, but many more are summoned to serve as lay ministers in a myriad of commissions. While the majority of students at the college are following a call to ordination, there are a significant number who study here in order to discern and prepare for a vocation in the laity.
Further Reading
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George Guiver
What is distinctive about priesthood within the Christian church?
This book argues that a contemporary understanding of priesthood within the church can only be discovered in the context of the whole people of God.
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George Guiver
What does it mean to be a priest today?
What sort of priests do we want?
The debates on the ordination of women to the priesthood and on the future shape of training have shown that the Church must examine these questions.
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