Date: 29 June 2022
As preparations continue for the annual ordination services this weekend, we continue to hear stories from those who will become the latest deacons in the diocese.
Christine Mogford from the parish of St John the Evangelist in Guildford will be ordained on Saturday, and shares how she was called.
"I was inspired to respond to God’s call to ordination by attending a women’s vocation event run by the diocese, at a time when I was thinking about returning to work after having children. I was so inspired by several stories of women who never expected to be called to ordination but discovered that that was God's plan for them. At first I thought the idea was ridiculous, me a vicar! But I was convinced I was being called because God spoke to me in a dream. I had been praying about ordination through Lent and, on Easter Saturday night, I had a dream of an open door, and I heard God calling me through. The more I have journeyed down the discernment process the more things have fallen into place and it feels like God has been preparing me for this long before I was aware of what was going on. A significant bible verse for me during this process has been 2 Corinthians 4: 5-7. 'For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.' I like the idea of being like a cracked clay jar with the treasure of the gospel shining through the gaps. I'm certainly not perfect but God can use me for his glory anyway."
All are invited to celebrate and welcome the candidates at Guildford Cathedral on the weekend of 2nd and 3rdJuly. For more details, visit our ordinations page. If you feel a calling and would like to explore a path of ordination, please visit our vocations page.