11 months later...

Rather embarrassingly, I haven't blogged in 11 months. 

The aim was to blog about Vicar School as it happened and keep a record of all that went on throughout the year. But what I actually have is a brain full of slightly jumbled memories and a vibrant Facebook photo album called 'Vicar School'- no blogs in sight!

So I sit here in Grantham train station about to start my final week of my last block placement of College, first pumpkin spiced latte of the season in hand, 9 months of training left, with one main question: how the hell did that happen?! 

The truth is that so much has happened that I haven't had much change to give any thought to my 'ordinand adventures' blog. And much as I'd like to promise that this coming year will be different, I can't.  So I just thought I'd throw down a few ideas about the last year while I had a spare half an hour before final year starts. 

So, a whistle stop tour of my first year of training, by Poppy Richards:

-I arrived at College and the first two weeks were an exhausting blur of new friends, new rules, new jargon and too many carbs (see previous post).

-I started placement on Sundays and Fridays in a brilliant Church which was higher than anything I've ever worked in before. I was involved in a funeral service for the first time, which I found to be a hugely moving experience.

-Before we knew it we were at our first year weekend away. This is where we gave up our day off to spend time together in a retreat house thinking about formation, playing card games and finally learning everyone's name!

-Then we rolled into November where Durham was filled with light and millions of people for Lumiere. But despite the excellent display of lights, my body was present in Durham when my mind and heart were not. My excellent family rallied together as my Mum had surgery and, yet again, astounded us all at her resilience and strength. #hero

-In our Mission lecture, we were sent out in pairs to proclaim the Good News. There is only so much time you can spend talking about something before you are itching to get on and do it!

-Cranmer hosted an women's conference, Named, Known and Called, where I sang in the band. Watching a room full of women sing 'you have our hearts, Lord, take our lives' truly renewed my faith in the Church and still gives me heaps of hope for the future. 

-We slid quickly into December where Durham got COLD and spirits were high. John's Music Night, where talent was dripping from the walls, reminded me why I'd chosen to come to Cranmer in the first place. The undergrad and postgrad students (non ordinands) that we share a College with can enrich training so much if we let it. They are excellent. 

-Term finished with a service in he Cathedral and a Cranmer Party. Strangers a term ago were now best friends and I left Durham for the holidays both bursting with joy, and tired to my core! 

In and amongst all that, I had fallen in love (yuck, vom, gross, cringe, slush. Yeah, I get it, and I didn't see it coming either). But the new year didn't bring the usual resolutions and heart ache (January and February have been particularly difficult months over the past few years). Instead it brought sunlight shimmering, strawberry ice cream, all encompassing joy in the form of a relationship with my boyfriend, Nathan.

-Straight to work though, the day after we got together I preached on placement, videoed myself and the had to critique myself in an essay. This is not an experience I wish to repeat- hearing myself preach on video was weird and awkward. 

-In February I found myself in Prison for the weekend (!) with others on my course, leading a group of men in a Faith Sharing Weekend based on the Psalms. 

-In March placement wound up, Easter came and I ran for an Exec position in College. I get to help out both the Cranmer and the St John's Common Rooms by acting as the point of communication between them and encouraging inter Common Room relations. 

Final term was a weird blur with block teaching and all kinds of different things. There was Sex & Gender, diversity week, a placement in a school, a week in a monetary, mission in Newcastle Cathedral on referendum day and, of course, lots of goodbyes followed by the ordinations of some of the best men and women that I know. 

Just before I wrap up, I may as well cover summer while I'm at it! 3 weddings, a hospital placement, a Parish placement, a festival, birthday parties and curacy visits. 

So there you have it. To quote Rent (a musical reference, of course!), how do you measure a year like that? 

Cups of tea? Midnight theological conversations?Stones gained through College food and a boyfriend who makes you happy? Essays? Grades? Songs sung? People reached? Hearts touched? Miles travelled? Sermons preached? Friends made?

It can't be done, such a year cannot be measured. But I can say that gradually, but by bit, I have been stretched, formed, molded and changed by the things seen and experienced this last year. Sometimes you don't realise how far you've come until you look back to where you started from. 

Thank you, Cranmer Hall. 

I have arrived!

Apologies for not posting sooner but these past 14 days have been a lovely, slightly manic, information filled, tea fuelled blur. But today us first years officially finished induction- thank The Lord! So today seems as good a day as any to jot down a few thoughts about vicar school so far.

Firstly, I had the best moving in day ever. We arrived, parked and began to unload the stuff into the hallway when a small troop of Cranmerites arrived to help me move in! They took all my things up the 3 (yes, THREE!) flights of stairs to my room! What could have been a really stressful and physically exhausting day for me and Dad was a dream (for us anyway, not sure how the helpers, Gareth, Toby, Nathan and Caitlin, feel about this). This is one of the the best examples I can give to show how friendly and generous Cranmer Hall is.

Another thing I've noticed is that theological college doesn't have the same 'every man for himself' vibe that Uni had. What I mean by this is that we no longer go into a bar or a shop and just buy drinks or whatever for ourselves. People are generous, happy to share, hold doors open for each other, clear each other's plates and say 'hello' in the corridor. This really helps to strengthen the community feel of the college.

That being said, living in University halls comes with it's challenges. Needless to say, the 6am fire drill in the rain was one of them!

But living in College means that I'm fully catered and the food here is absolutely wonderful! It's tasty, fresh and there are loads of options at every meal. There is just one problem... There's far too much of it! I suspect that I am now eating double the amount of food that I was eating when I was at home, and we Richards' are Hobbits when it comes to our love of food! Expect a blog on the difficulty of motivating oneself to exercise in the coming weeks. To add to the food issue, my room is probably a 4 minute walk away from most of my lectures. Like the food, this is very convenient but not especially good for my figure!

On my interview day back in February, I was struck by how many children and families of ordinands were around in College. I loved the dynamic that the children brought to my first stay at Cranmer and now that I've been here a couple of weeks I can really see how rich the community is because of them! One of my favourite times of the week has to be All Age worship where getting on for 20 children, their families and anyone else who wants to have a really fun and engaging service in the Chapel. This week we got given pegs that said 'you are God's child, he loves you ' on them to peg to each other! Whats not to love?!

Sometimes you land in a new place and it seems like all the tough moments up until that point were so worth it. Now, don't get me wrong, I really did love my time in London. But do I think it's easier to feel at home in some environments than others. I feel like I belong here because I can be who I am, wear what I want to wear and talk how I want to talk. There are so many different people around, and I feel no pressure to make myself like anyone else (apart from Jesus, of course!). I think that Cranmer Hall is the best place for me to be formed for the next phase of my life. 

Greenbelt- the Bright Field

Last weekend I went to my 8th Greenbelt Festival! Which is mad because the time since my first one has gone so quickly! Now, a summer without Greenbelt would be truly incomplete. Here are my 10 thoughts about the 2015 festival- 'the Bright Field'.

1, I'd forgotten how beautiful the Boughton festival site is. I sat in various talks and would glance outside the tent to see lovely tall trees and lush greenery. This definitely gives Greenbelt something that it didn't have so much of in Cheltenham.

2, Even at a smaller festival with cuts to the program we were spoilt for choice! On Saturday morning there were 4 talks beginning at about 9 that I'd have loved to have heard.

3, That being said, I chose to go to 'Jesus crucified himself, so you don't have to' by Sara Hyde. This was one of the best talks I went to all weekend. It was an honest reflection of Sara's struggle in finding time for herself and how difficult it can be to say 'no'. There was also practical advice for people who find themselves in similar situations. I'm sure this advice will be very valuable in the next couple of years or so because I'm going to theological college to study for the ministry at the end of this month!

4, I found myself in a lot more sessions focussed on other religions than I have done at previous Greenbelts. I found the attitude to people of other faiths really refreshing! Especially the Jihad of Jesus talk on Friday night by Dave Andrews because he offered thought provoking ideas that I hadn't really considered before. For example, why do our creeds miss out love when the Bible tells us that love is the greatest thing, even greater than faith? (1 Corinthians 13)

5, I always love Greenbelt communion. I know that it isn't to everybody's taste, and that some people would theologically struggle to think of it as 'communion'. But whatever we want to call it, there is something beautiful about gathering together in the fresh air to worship. I long to see both a Church and a world without walls. *Most* of us were dry under the big top roof and this meant that we could have our communion without fear of the rain. But the people in the Wedges and Nacho stall, the Noodle bar and the Creperie could see and here what we were all up to. The lack of walls around the big top meant that walls were broken down when it came to the surrounding stall holders who aren't necessarily Christian.

6, The prayer during the communion service about tents was beautiful. Tents were most people's home for the weekend however we prayed for those who have no option but to live in tents every day. Even by Sunday morning the novelty of the tent was beginning to wear off for me- but I was thankful for the reminder of how blessed I am to live as I do compared to thousands of others.

7, I always love the random chats with people over the weekend. This years chat locations included; the car park at the beginning of the festival, the camp site whilst setting up the tent, the queue for the ports loo, the Jesus arms, the Glade Big Top during communion and the Christian Aid tent. Greenbelters are such a friendly lot!

8, On Friday and Saturday it was great to see so many venues overflowing onto the grass! It just goes to show how difficult it much be to plan such a festival with so many unknowns such as how popular a talk will be. I really enjoyed sunning myself whilst listening to various talks and panels! I can't say the same for Sunday or Monday but that's just the British Summer for you!

9, For me, the drama and plays at Greenbelt just seem to get better each year! The Mill by Ockham's Razor was so good! I've never seen such a clever and interesting set like that before. It had a human sized hamster wheel suspended about 8 ft in the air, thick rope that was used for tight rope walking, pattern making, climbing, pulling and swings, and 5 strong actors who were brilliant acrobats too! What's not to love?! 

10, I love how outward looking Greenbelt is. Our faith is not an isolated being, it is designed to interact with our world and Greenbelt is a wonderful catalyst for this interaction! There are plenty of opportunities to get to know local, national and international charities who are always looking for support and interest. Equally, many talks and panels are about looking out into the world and how we can make a difference in it. 

As with every year at Greenbelt, I found myself being more myself than anywhere else. I am...

-the Poppy who walks around as a rainbow- because Greenbelt is all things rainbow, and rainbows are my favourite.

-the Poppy who is happy to admit what she really thinks but also the Poppy who isn't completely sure who she is in some ways.

-the Poppy who just wears leggins and a TShirt- because it's Greenbelt, normal rules don't apply and I just don't care about my legs as much!

-the Poppy who doesn't care about showering- because there's no time for that at Greenbelt!

-the Poppy who just doesn't care about the latest Christmas displays in Harrods- because how boring and irrelevant is that in comparison?

So I just want to say thank you to Greenbelt for yet again being the space of healing, home, where new friends can made and new ideas can be explored.

That time we went to Israel!

Two weeks ago I got back from a trip to Israel. I went with my sister, Isabelle, and a youth worker from Nottingham called Ade and we were away for 18 days all told. We spent most of our time away in Nazareth helping at Christian Youth camps which was a lot of fun! One week we worked with 60 11-14 year olds, some of whom had good English but others felt too shy to talk unless we kept on trying! The teenagers on the second camp were 15-18 year olds and being that bit older had a really good understanding of the English language so for this reason I found the second camp a bit easier than the first. That being said, every child I spoke to had much better English than I do Arabic! 

We were there to support the Priests and families from the local area as well as to add our own flavour to the camps. We did this by teaching them some English songs, playing sport and going swimming with them, praying in groups and providing craft activities such as 1000s of loom bands to make into bracelets! All of which seemed to go down well with the adults and young people alike.

One of the first things you need to know about me is that I'm used to getting 7 and a half to 8 hours sleep a night, and I definitely function best when I have slept well. Needless to say 8 hours sleep a night was not my experience whilst staying in a hostel full of teenagers! I'd say that it probably took me over a week to get back to normal on the sleep front.

But despite the lack of sleep I, we, had an absolutely fantastic time. We also worked with three others from our diocese; Azaria, Michael and Bob who were just brilliant and made us feel so welcome when we arrived. The kids are cheeky, energetic, loud and really lovely. I have no doubt that all the young people we met will grow up to make a huge impact on their world, definitely for the better! The 'grown ups' that we worked with are also such inspirational people. Being Palestinian Christians living in the state of Israel means that their lives are not always easy or even pleasant. Yet their enthusiasm and generosity is absolutely infectious and I hope that I will never forget their passion for the Gospel in one of the most troubled parts of the planet.

We were in Israel for 2 weeks and 3 weekends. Quite unexpectedly we spent each weekend in a different area of the country site seeing! When we arrived we stayed in Jerusalem so took ourselves off to the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemene, the Garden Tomb, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and got a taxi to Bethlehem! On the second weekend we visited Tiberius and sites on the sea of Galilee such as St Peter's Primacy, Mount of the Beatitudes and the Church of the Multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. We had paddle in the sea itself but unfortunately none of us managed to walk across to the other side! Finally just before leaving we saw more of Nazareth such as the Basilica above Mary's house and the festival for the assumption of Mary!

We were also able to spend a weekend in Shef'Amre which is a town with which our Parish at home is linked. We walked into the Church there, St Paul's, and I felt truly at home which was definitely helped by recognising some on the congregation who were in Ordsall to visit us just a few weeks earlier! All the congregation, those we already knew and those we didn't, made us feel so welcome. It is wonderful to see how much a Parish to Parish link can mean to people on other sides of the world. 

Over the past few years I have been very blessed by the support from All Hallows, Ordsall and the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham to go on a range of trips across the world. I'd just like to say how grateful I am for all of these experiences because I never get tired of seeing new places and how other people live, and it really does change the way that I see the world. 

If you get to chance to go and experience something new then I just have one word to say to you... GO! Even if it's scary and unknown, go.