By way of introduction

In 2015 I was ordained Deacon in the Church of England and sent off, with my family, to be Assistant Curate to a group of rural churches in North Yorkshire. These churches are grouped around the market town of Masham (pronounced Mass'um - stray "sh" phonemes are frowned upon round here) where beer is brewed at the Theakston's and Black Sheep breweries.

Theakston's famous Old Peculier beer takes its name from the ecclesiastical Court of the Peculier which was based in Masham. I am not particularly old, but am almost certainly "peculier" in more than one sense of the word. The term for the Peculier of Masham meant that the court took its authority, not from the general jurisdictions which would normally apply but a "peculier" (i.e. specific) one such as the monarch, or a Dean and Chapter of a Cathedral, or a Bishop or Archbishop, or even some other authority. In the case of Masham, the Archbishop of York would normally have been the judicial authority, but as the journey time from York was considerable, a peculier was created and Masham was allowed to basically sort its own affairs out.

As a curate, I do follow the law of the land, but it is true to say that I take my authority from a 'peculier' place as well. At my ordination I took vows of obedience to both Monarch and Bishop. Quaint as this may seem, this was a sign that all authority comes from God and I'm called as part of something ongoing: the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, so I'm not just here to make up what I believe as I go along. A bit of humility does not go amiss among us clergy types. We are only one element of the Church - and no more loved by God, no more valuable than others who do not wear clerical dress. We do, however, have a 'peculier' calling, that is, a specific and distinct one. More on this in another post when I'll look at what I affirmed I believed and promised to do in the ordination service.

But for now, if prayer is your thing, I'd value your prayers as I learn to love these new communities (which is not an onerous task as people here are generally awesome and welcoming), as I find out what God is up to around here (and hopefully get on board with it!) and be a prayerful, caring, loving presence in a truly beautiful part of the world.

This blog will hopefully contain sermons, thoughts and reflections, but it will never contain tales of parishioners or colleagues - it's not a gossip column, more an invitation to join me on an adventure of faith. Let's go...