In this session, we are introduced to the course, looking at the sessions that will come in future weeks and take a deep dive into our own identity and history and what has brought us to this point in our discernment journey, sharing our stories with one another. We spend some time exploring the story of the calling of Samuel from the Hebrew scriptures and Jesus calling his first disciples from the New Testament.

This time around we consider how we are formed as Christian disciples and ministers by our participation in the local church and most especially its sacraments.

In the third session in the Vocations Course, we explore the importance of our spiritual life and the different ways we can pursue a life of prayer, essential as it is to our Christian discipleship and for any ministry in Christ’s Church.

In this session, we consider the distinct character of the Church of England and how it is organised and governed locally and nationally and how this shapes and informs our life and Anglican Christians and ministers in this expression of Christ’s Church.

In the fifth session of the Vocations Course, we consider the range of different types and contexts for ministry and calling in the Church of England, exploring dimensions such as parish, pioneer and chaplaincy and the different forms such as licensed lay (Reader) ministry, stipenidairy and self-supporting priestly ministry, the distinctive diaconate and the religious life.

In the final session, we explore the mission of God in the world and the Church’s calling to join with God at work and play among and around us. We see how Christian ministry is given to enable the whole people of God to play its part in the ‘missio Dei’ and where we might fit in that.