Tim Collison
16 March 2025
Before being ordained, I had to write 500 words on: “Why I believe I am ready to be ordained.” I found this harder to write than any cover letter. I was not sure I had the temerity to suggest that I could be ready to be ordained. But I quoted two exhortations from the A Prayer Book for Australia’s ordinals for deacons, and priests when I wrote it:
“Christ has called you to the office of deacon. You are to be an ambassador of Christ, serving God as you serve others in Jesus’ name.”
“Never forget how great a treasure is placed in your care: the Church you must serve is Christ’s spouse and body, purchased at the cost of his own life.”
As I wrote then, and still believe, these exhortations give me pause. Who am I, who is anyone to hear those exhortations and go through with ordination? And yet, it is those exhortations which also pulled me towards being ordained. I felt called to this role in the body of Christ. In 1 Peter 2 the apostle tells us that God is building us into a spiritual house, that we are all a holy nation, and each of us stones in that house has a different role.
And I felt called by Jesus to be one of the ‘stones’ which we Anglicans call “priests”. I thought a lot about this calling, this vocation. I was encouraged by the Anglican process which acknowledges that this discernment around your vocation is a two-way process. Others examine you, pray with you and test your vocation. This was important to me understanding the call was a genuine one. So, I felt called, even if daunted by the weight of those words in the ordinals.
I finished my curacy last year, and I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be in ordained ministry. The first thing I can say is I have not felt this fulfilled in a role before. I’ve had other roles I enjoy. Other roles I found value in. God’s graciousness to me in the call to this ministry is to help me feel that my ‘stone’ is in the right position in the house!
Read more: Ordinations to the Priesthood 2023 | More pictures
God’s grace is more abundant than we can dare hope for. As well as feeling fulfilled, I’ve found real joy in being in ordained ministry. To be an ambassador of Christ, to serve the great treasure which is Christ’s spouse and body, is joyful in ways I didn’t expect.
To see people coming to know the great love Jesus Christ has for them, and committing to serve him has filled me with joy. To see the youth leaders at my church take up opportunities to serve and excel in proclaiming Jesus to the youth group fills me with joy. The joy of celebrating the eucharist with our older saints who cannot make it to church has humbled me. To see the quiet ways members of my church serve brings me life.
One humbling joy that persistently sits with me is the trust people give you. Their willingness to come to you and share what God is doing in their life, and how they might be feeling about that. And then praying with them over and through that issue. The joy of being part of people’s lives’ in the way Paul calls teachers and pastors to be in Ephesians 4:12-14, to present people mature in Christ is ongoing.
I am so thankful for the opportunities that my church, St Mark’s Camberwell, has given me to experience this joy in ordained ministry. Ultimately the joy I have in my role is because as a church, we are the spouse and body of Christ together.
My hope in writing this is not that people think I’m great, but rather that Christ is wonderfully gracious, and calls and fits all of us to the roles he has for us. And my role is only made possible by the participation of the whole church in our call to be Christ’s body.
Read more: ‘Life changing, eternally challenging’ call, new priests told
It is easy in today’s world to be cynical about the church, even as a disciple of Jesus! But my church is a great treasure, as is the whole Church. And in God’s abundant grace to me, I have the joy of being able to serve them, and with them.
I’ve been told that I often tend to see things through rose tinted glasses. This might be true. And if you catch me in a less optimistic mood I could certainly enumerate some of the costs of ordained ministry. I wanted to focus on the joys, because while I expected to find fulfilment, the regular joy I have in ordained ministry was unexpected.
I am very thankful that we are all different ‘stones’ in the spiritual house God is building (1 Peter 2:5). And God puts us in different spaces and roles. The charges in the ordinal are weighty. But if the chance to serve the great treasure that is Christ’s body resonates with you, can I encourage you to explore that in prayer, and in discussion with people you trust?
The Reverend Tim Collison is parish minister at St Mark’s Camberwell.
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