Humility in the Humour.

Humility in the Humour

Jesus came so we might have life in abundance and it certainly feels like that right now after being ordained priest in the summer. With experience inevitably comes confidence, that feeling of, I’m getting the hang of things only to be brought down to earth with a mistake here or a hiccup there is a nice but essential part of a minister learning the ropes through mistakes and opportunities.

I have to say that as a newly ordained priest I am having the time of my life almost to the point of worrying that things are going just a little bit too well and it’s only a matter of time before I fall back to earth with crashing thump  and a massive sense of disappointment. Maybe this is also due to experience and that realization that good things don’t and can’t go on forever and ever, or can they?

I feel extremely privileged in my vocation and I wake up most days with lots to do and lots to be done. I get enormous pleasure from the links I have made in the parish, I adore going into school and getting such positive vibes when I have assisted a child in spelling a word correctly or listening to a child’s irrelevant event that may have occurred outside school hours and has nothing to do with the topic of the hour.

Being able to celebrate at the altar is also the most joyous thing to be responsible for. Feeling highly emotional at the most peculiar of times is such a beautiful and special moment that makes me not ashamed but deeply proud to be able to serve God in this very special way and is highly rewarding for a newly priested Anglo Catholic clergyman.

Walking the families through the trauma of a funeral, Baptising babies with unusual names, giving old ladies lifts to the post office, running dementia friends events, clearing away dishes at the community center, making arrangement for marriages, meetings, lunches, services, pastoral visits are just ingredients that make the job an absolute joy and to do and to do it in the name of Christ just adds to the colour and flavor of this unique work.

And whilst all this work is going on there is the return to comedy and the little bit of madness that it brings to my life.  It has been a really great thing to do. It takes me back to a period of my life that I thought was well in the past, but the biggest difference is I wasn’t a priest back then.

However like I said with experience come’s confidence and I am confident enough to face the challenges that come with trying to make people laugh. Laughing is not everyone’s cup of tea! and one person’s funny bone can be someone else’s Achilles heel.  But experience encourages me not to worry. I don’t mind if someone doesn’t think me or my comedy partner are funny, if they don’t think we are funny then they are most certainly correct. My biggest concern doesn’t come with worrying if I am funny or not, it comes from if I can be taken seriously or not. Worrying that people think one is so wrapped up in silliness that all serious credibility is lost. I think being a ‘funny’ vicar is totally not what has been experienced in days gone by and by some old diehards or conservatives what is not expected going forward.

However I must remain true to myself, people often spend ridiculous periods of their lives aspiring to be ‘something’ without being ‘somebody’. Somebody created by God with a unique DNA a unique personality and a uniqueness that should never be compromised. In years gone by I have been guilty of compromising my DNA and being unhappy or ultimately disappointed.

And so now in late 2016 I feel relatively at ease ‘trying’ to be ‘funny’. It sustains me and makes me creative, It makes me laugh and sometimes it makes me cry. It makes me happy, not because people pat me on the back, or recognize me from an article in a paper or a video online. But it makes me happy because it opens the church to something different, it breaks down stereotypes, it dispels myths and it displays that if you like it or not, Christians and particularly clergy are human beings who laugh and cry like the rest of humanity.

I don’t crave fame or fortune and I don’t crave recognition or reward, I have no ambitious dreams to become anything other than a competent Vicar, a decent leader for the church and a respected and trusted member of the community.

So with experience comes confidence and so the comedy clergyman will continue to be himself and will continue to find humor wherever possible. He will take what comes with it in his stride, he will never absolve himself of his responsibilities. He will never expect more than should be expected and never dwell too long on disappointments that may come his way. But he will stay focused on the whole picture also remember that when he need to be serious, he will be serious and appropriate, and compassionate, and loving in the name of Christ until he calls me home.

Love as always

Alextheanglican

Find our comedy on You Tube   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvtXy1o70jBgYrmdLfZEVfg

Find us on Twitter at @jacandkrac