Here I Am
Richard Giles is the Dean of Philadelphia. He is the author of Repitching the Tent, a classic text on the design and ordering of church buildings, Creating Uncommon Worship and How to Be an Anglican.
Here I Am
Reflections on the ordained life
Richard Giles
Copyright information
Text © Richard Giles 2006
Illustrations © Bob O’Cathail
First published in 2006 by the Canterbury Press Norwich
(a publishing imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Limited,
a registered charity)
13–17 Long Lane, London
EC1A 9PN
www.scm-canterburypress.co.uk
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Canterbury Press.
The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work
Quotations taken from the Authorized Text of the Ordination Services are copyright © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2006, www.cofe.anglican.org
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
978-1-85311-713-8
Typeset by Regent Typesetting, London
Printed and bound by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, SN14 6LH
Contents
Priests are called to be servants and shepherds among the people to whom they are sent.’
‘With their bishop and fellow ministers’
‘They are to proclaim the word of the Lord.’
. . . and to watch for the signs of God’s new creation.’
‘They are to be messengers, watchmen and stewards of the Lord; they are to teach and to admonish, to feed and provide for his family.’
. . . to search for his children in the wilderness of this world’s temptations, and to guide them through its confusions.’
‘Formed by the Word, they are to call their hearers to repentance and to declare in Christ’s name the absolution and forgiveness of their sins.’
‘With all God’s people they are to tell the story of God’s love. They are to baptize new disciples in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, and to walk with them in the way of Christ, nurturing them in the faith.’
‘They are to unfold the scriptures, to preach the word in season and out of season, and to declare the mighty acts of God.’
‘They are to preside at the Lord’s table and lead his people in worship, offering with them a spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. They are to bless the people in God’s name.’
‘They are to resist evil, support the weak, defend the poor, and intercede for all in need. They are to minister to the sick and prepare the dying for their death.’
‘Guided by the Spirit, they are to discern and foster the gifts of all God’s people, that the whole Church may be built up in unity and faith.’
Dedication
For
Hans Küng
presbyter, prophet
and pilot of the Church
This book grew out of an ordination retreat in December 2004 at the Wapiti Wilderness Retreat, Maryland for those preparing for ordination in the Diocese of Pennsylvania
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’
Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’
Isaiah 6.8
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face,
as one speaks to a friend.
Exodus 33.11
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you come and follow me and never be the same?
‘The Summons’, John L. Bell and Graham Maule, Celebration Hymnal for Everyone, McCrimmons, 1994
A better preest, I trowe that nowher noon is.
He
