As I said in my inaugural blog post many people didn't know me as religious. In this post I'm going to talk about what it's like to tell your friends and colleagues that not only are you quite deeply religious but also you think your calling may be to spread the word of God!
I'll start with my family, obviously they knew I was religious having brought me up in the Christian faith and knowing that regardless of my views on certain aspects of religion my faith was always strong.
It was actually my parents who suggested I look into my calling so I knew I'd be supported by them. My brother took the mick a bit, as since we left the church we attended for most of our lives he has decided to become atheist. But even from that viewpoint he still supports me in it. In a way it's good to have him to talk to in order to ensure critical thinking on my part when he questions me on things.
My grandparents just said 'oh we knew one of you or your dad would do that one day!' They are Methodist so again it's good to have another viewpoint to draw upon.
It was actually my parents who suggested I look into my calling so I knew I'd be supported by them. My brother took the mick a bit, as since we left the church we attended for most of our lives he has decided to become atheist. But even from that viewpoint he still supports me in it. In a way it's good to have him to talk to in order to ensure critical thinking on my part when he questions me on things.
My grandparents just said 'oh we knew one of you or your dad would do that one day!' They are Methodist so again it's good to have another viewpoint to draw upon.
The next big step was my family in law. They hadn't seen me grow up and had only known me really as agnostic. Luckily it was after becoming married so my mother and grandmother in law had seen me attending the church and taking communion as well as hearing me discussing potential conversion to catholicism (my wife and I married in a Catholic Church and part of the vows is to bring up any future children in the Catholic tradition,so I'd been struggling with my views on catholicism and my wish to stick to my vows). So it didn't come as too big a suprise to them. They just said straight away that I'd be great at it and they look forward to supporting me through my training.
My extended family in law found out through grandma and when I next saw them again held pretty much the same view: I'd be great at it. In the most part they were curious about what's involved.
My extended family in law found out through grandma and when I next saw them again held pretty much the same view: I'd be great at it. In the most part they were curious about what's involved.
The final big one was my friends and work colleagues. Not many of these had ever seen me involved with the church so it came as a shock to them. Most, after the initial 'wow, ok..', actually were very supportive, saying they can see me doing it well and it uses my talents perfectly. A couple did laugh when first informed. But it was more because they thought I was joking! Once they realised my seriousness they were also fully supportive.
I've not had anyone tell me it's not something I can do, or I'd be bad at so I'm very lucky in that regard. It also helps me realise that maybe this is what I'm being called for. When even my colleague who prides himself on scepticism supports me in it, just asking I keep a critical viewpoint on everything, I think I'm on the right track!
I've not had anyone tell me it's not something I can do, or I'd be bad at so I'm very lucky in that regard. It also helps me realise that maybe this is what I'm being called for. When even my colleague who prides himself on scepticism supports me in it, just asking I keep a critical viewpoint on everything, I think I'm on the right track!
Tl:dr: Don't be afraid to tell people your feelings of vocation. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised!
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