Grants update : Rose Millard
My LWPT grant was to enable me to continue my theological studies and begin ministerial formation for ordination as a Baptist minister . I was both excited and apprehensive to meet my fellow first years and begin our journey together at Bristol Baptist College , and it was a particular joy , in this odd year we have had , to meet them in person in September .
Since then , most lectures , reflection groups and services have been on-line but that has not prevented us from forging a strong bond and sharing our highs and lows . I am immensely grateful to that group of men and women and to our tutors at BBC for making this such a rewarding and fulfilling year .
I have been studying Foundations in Worship and Rose with her ‘ biggest supporter ’, husband Jon
Ministry in Context , Church Doctrine , Mission and Evangelism and Church History . Essay marks are in , 360 ° review completed and everyone is happy with me ! I particularly enjoyed Foundations ; I love preaching and it was good to study some of the greats as well as analyse what makes a good sermon and experiment with different styles . Our assessment was part practical and I found preaching to my peers , intently making notes , nerve wracking ! It has given me confidence to try prose poetry and using more imaginative techniques whilst still remaining faithful to the Word of God .
Ministerial formation has involved a great deal of self-reflection and developing the disciplines and spiritual structures to see me through the good and the bad times of ministry . Such disciplines have never felt more vital and more comforting . This has , for all of us , been a rollercoaster of a year without the best bit of a rollercoaster - getting off . I was made redundant from my role as Pastoral Assistant at my church in December . One of my children was taking GCSEs ( or not , the decisions seemed to change weekly at one point ) and the other has started the GCSE course without knowing what will be expected next summer . My parents are both clinically vulnerable and we did not see my recently widowed Father-in-law for 18 months . But in amongst these difficult aspects of life , I was aware more than ever of God ’ s unfailing presence , unchanging love and everlasting arms .
Who knows whether I will be travelling to Bristol weekly come September , or how “ normal ” our lives will be by then . What I do know , is how grateful I am that the LWPT grant enabled me to start this journey and follow a path God has been gently nudging me towards for some years .
Blessings , Rose Millard June 2021
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