2 weeks to go!!

Sorry I've been gone for a while!!  It has been rather hectic of late - but I finish my degree: Bachelor of Ministry in less than 2 weeks!!  

It has been a journey of six years of study, and probably just a long leading up to the commencement of the study.  I have grown, stretched, broken, re-formed, puzzled, dreamed, been inspired, seen, heard, learned, laughed, cried, befriended, been touched, pondered, mused, cooked, married, eaten, withheld, discovered, emerged...

Thank you to all that have supported me, taught me, rebuked me, heard me, loved me...

:) Jen

Prince Caspian

I was delighted to go to the openning night of Prince Capsian last night!



A diehard fan of the The Chronicles of Narnia, I have been waiting for this since the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Prince Capsian is my favourite fo all the books, with the Horse and his Boy and close second. I love the faith of Lucy. And this movie certainly lived up to her faith, wisdom and vision... so delighted that they included the trees!! (That was a bit beyond the 1980s BBC versions technical abilities back then).

Without giving anything away (beyond the story line we all know well from the book) it is very important to take the blatant warnings, "Everything you know about Narnia is about the change"... so keep that in mind and you won't be disappointed.

There are still C.S.Lewis-nesses throughout the dialogue which are wonderful, especially spoken by Lucy and Susan.

Overall, I'll rate this 4 stars. I enjoyed it and I'll buy it.

Great blog/article on Woman in Ministry

Rod Benson from the Tinsley Institute this month wrote an article in his Speaking Ethically column in the Victorian Baptist Witness magazine. For April, the whole Witness was dedicated to Women in Ministry in Victorian Baptist churches and ministries. It is such a great read!!!

The article is in a blog: http://speaking-ethically.blogspot.com/2008/03/april-2008-by-rod-benson-australia-has.html

Rod made reference to this article in a comment to one of my posts below, and I just had to highlight it!

I made some comment, and I hope you do too (I love discussions!). Comments are screened, so won't appear straight away, so keep your eye on it.

The April copy of Witness is available here: http://www.buv.com.au/AboutUs/News/AprilWitnessAvailableNow!.aspx

If only the Vicar of Dibley had kids!

Been watching the Vicar of Dibley again on Sunday nights. I turned to David during an episode and said, "If only the Vicar of Dibley had kids!"

Don't know if I should use her as a role model - but she sure is fun!

No, no, no, no, no, no, yes!

What does a female minister with young children look like?

Since meeting with the Leadership at church I have been thinking through there ideas. The one that struck me most was that we may end up in pastoral ministry prior to our overseas cross-cultural ministry. I suddenly thought, "What does a female minister with a young family look like?"

If, God willing, we start a family soon, we would have small munchkins and possible be still popping them out while pastoring a church. I know there are a few around, but I haven't met or observed how a female minister with a family operates.

I am the type that all my adult life I have been observing married couples to learn about marriage, observing parents to learn about raising kids, asking missionaries a million questions to learn about life (family and ministry) overseas, and supporting ordination candidates through the process. But I have never had that opportunity with female ministers with kids (small or grown up).

I have shared this with a couple of people and there are some female friends in that very position who they recommend I grab a coffee with. Yeah!!

Ordination Part 4

Here is the latest on my possible path to ordination:

I went to see Frank Rees (Principal, Whitley College) who is on the ordination panal here in Victoria, a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to know a little bit more about the process down here and also introduce myself before process started. It was a very encouraging chat and he suggested I speak to Mark Holt (State Director, Global Interaction) because of our plans for Africa, as this will affect the ordination process. Also, he suggested I meet with the Leadership at church, as it is the local church that recommends someone for ordination, not an individual who decides for themself.

Fortunately the next week was the Leadership monthly meeting, so I asked to come along and I shared my felt calling. I asked them to pray about it and if they felt it was time to recommend me, if they would, or if they felt I should not proceed at the moment or work on somethings, they would let me know. They agreed to pray about it and were very encouraging. A few things came out of this:

1. They asked me to chat with David how he felt about being a "pastor's husband" and how he would feel moving around in different placements - with his own teaching career. We had a good chat about these and he is fine with both.
2. They also suggested that I may go through the process and not be recommended for ordination at the end of it. I have thought through this prior and I feel that God is calling me to the process and it would be hugely beneficial and refining in itself. I can never predict what doors of opportunity God will open or shut!
3. There was also the suggestion that I may end up in pastoral ministry before we end up in Africa as missionaries. They was not something I had thought of before!

I am really looking forward to hearing from them if the church will recommend me ofr ordination (after the Leadership, it will go to a church meeting).