Placements - What, where and why?

Hello everyone, in this weeks post I'm going to be talking about the basics of my placement. What it is, where it is, why I'm doing it and what it involves..

What is a placement?
A placement is a church you attend at the behest of your diocesan director of ordinands that has been agreed upon by them and the Bishop. How long it lasts is different depending on your previous experience. For me it is going to be 3 months, taking me through one of the busiest times of the Christian year - Christmas.

Where is it?
I am attending and helping out at a benefice of rural churches. St Mark's Dolphinholme, St Peter's Quernmore and Christ Church Over Wyresdale. These are the churches run by my ADDO and they are roughly 15 minutes away from one another.

Why do it?
When you are exploring your vocation in the Diocese of Blackburn they like for you to have a placement in a church outside of your own tradition/circumstances so you can see a broad range of Christianity and the sorts of services and issues you may have to deal with. Usually they go for a very different tradition to your own but as I am already attending St Tees which is a complete polar opposite to my home of St Barnabas they decided to show me rural ministry.

What does it involve?
So far it has just been a case of attending the churches to get a feel for the different styles and services. I have also attended a PCC meeting and written then read some prayers of intercession. However, now that Advent is upon us I am going to be very busy! At the time of writing this post I am preparing for an exceptionally busy weekend shadowing Rev. Cindy as we go around 3 Christmas fairs, a Christmas tree festival, a sponsored 80 mile bike ride as well as the usual 3 Sunday services. This is to get me used to the 'rush' of priesthood and how you need to be in many places at once. I look forward to it and will relish the opportunity!

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