Erik Heemskerk is one of the new deacons being ordained at Guildford Cathedral on Sunday 2nd July and shares his story of being called to church ministry.
"Growing up in a vicar’s household, I thought I myself would become a vicar, though in my teenage years this sense of vocation largely disappeared. It returned when I joined the Anglican Church in Utrecht and became very active in leading student ministry. Quietly I began to wonder whether God had called me to ordination, and I was prodded to explore this further by my priest and others asking me the same question.
After this I became more involved in other areas of ministry, as an altar server, and in leading and preaching at services. While this and other aspects of ministry were and still are quite terrifying, I got a strong sense that this is the right place for me to be, the place where God has called me. I believe the heart of my calling to be facilitating, providing, and serving in a Church where people encounter, share, and live out God’s loving offer of reconciliation with Him, with others, and with ourselves."
Find out more about the ordination services taking place this year.