Ser una Precadora I've been a Local Preacher in Training for a while now. {This is a training course where you do studying and assignments and so on whilst also preaching in order to train to become an accredited Local Preacher in the Methodist Church.} And whilst I have ABSOLUTELY loved the preaching side of this, growing more and more in my understanding of God and the Bible at a practical and real-life level (not just ivory tower thinking like a theology degree can sometimes become!), I have stuggled quite a bit with the studies side of it. And it's not because the work is particularly difficult; the theology in it is much easier to understand than some of the things these wonderful, but sometimes eccentric, Cambridge theology lecturers come out with! But I've found it quite old-fashioned, not particularly relevant and just adding so many more essays to more already very full essay schedule! So I have been stagnant about 1/4 of the way in for a while! So when I found out that my circuit in Cambridge was part of the pilot shceme for a new way of doing these studies, I was incredibly excited! Now having joined that pilot and having just got back from a weekend training conference for it, I am EVEN MORE excited!!! :-D The assignments are now practical things that both the preacher in training and the wider church community will benefit from the preacher doing, and which encourage the preacher, or worship leader (because this course is now for both, though the preacher has an extra year), to let that calling interact with the other aspects of their life and also the lives of the people their lives interact with. It's so exciting! We spent the weekend looking at what spells out "calling" most to us, how we are all theologians and how our lives can be us seeking God more and more, and how to use reflection as a way of enriching our experiences and understanding of God too. It was amazing just being with other people also training and also experiencing this new passion of preaching. We shared together in a self-led worship time, a creative session on expressing a Bible passage in an imperfectionist, artistic way, and a lot of learning and sharing together. I had such a great time and came away burning with new passion to let preaching be a part of everything I do, alongside this group of wonderful people. Up 'till now I haven't had this sort of community alongside me in my training; it's great! I'm so excited to see where this course will take me next and how it will make a difference to the Methodist Church in future years!
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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April 2020
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