Student Placement

Yesterday we said goodbye to Jane Wood, a student training for ordained ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, near Oxford. Jane spent four weeks working alongside me over this summer and it was a pleasure to have her with us.

Jane has told me how helpful she found it to enter into the life of St Paul's and to experience the regular - and unpredictable - aspects of ministry.

I found it really good to have someone to talk with in reflection on the events of each day and Jane has a real gifts of perception and insight.

Clergy and active lay ministers in the church have to juggle a growing list of tasks and calls on their time and it's absolutely vital to find space for reflection, careful thought and prayer. Too often we rush from one thing to another, with the result that we're hurried, anxious and distracted. It's good to see that at Cuddesdon and elsewhere in theological education, habits of intentional theological reflection are encouraged.