The Path To Effective Ministry 1: Discerning Vocation

BISHOP Walton Empey once said at the Fellowship of Vocation Group 7 years ago that ‘Vocation is not necessarily a Damascus Road revelation in the life of an individual, but rather a series of events or milestones within his or her life that point that person in one particular direction.’ This is true of my own experience. Beginning my life in a strong and faithful Church of Ireland family, my belief in God was handed down to me by my father, who by his life and faithfulness inspired my relationship with God. God was Father to me as a small child, afraid of the darkness; God was Son to me as Jesus of Nazareth won my heart as a vulnerable teenager and spoke words that made complete sense to me. God as Spirit has guided me through the process of the past 8 years and has opened doors and closed some when necessary. It is about these doors and this process of training that I now speak.

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Cathy Hallissey, David Gillespie & Bridget Nichols

Cathy Hallissey is rector of Powerscourt with Kilbride, diocese of Glendalough. David Gillespie is vicar of St Ann’s, Dublin, and Central Director of Ordinands Bridget Nichols Is Lecturer in Anglicanism and Liturgy at the C of I Theological Institute