I have to confess that there are many parts of the Church of England's new Common Worship services that I don't like. The Baptism service, for example, is hugely long, overly complicated and (I think) theologically wrong. (For more on that you might want to read my essay on baptism.) The pattern of daily prayer changes every day, and there are so many options that it is difficult to see what is 'Common' about the new services.
Despite all this, my wife and I spent the day in Durham Cathedral yesterday - where we will be ordained in June - going through the ordination service, both practically and theologically. As the last part of Common Worship to be published, there has been a lot of time and effort put into the service, and I think it has paid off. The prayers are good, there is a focus on the call to preach and to serve, and even on the importance of the Bible!
The ordination itself, where the Bishop lays his hands on each candidate, takes place within the context of the main prayers in the service. From the service booklet we were given yesterday (all forty pages of it!) it really does seem like the transition between prayers - ordination - prayers is seemless.
The centrality of prayer in the service caught me by surprise, but actually I think is absolutely right. It means that our life as ordained ministers begins firmly within the context of family, friends and the wider church praying for us, and it means that we ourselves begin on our knees. This all acknowledges just how important it is that God enables us to perform our various ministries (ordained and non-ordained), that we can't do any of it in our own strength.
I was looking forward to the service before - now I can't wait!
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Which leads nicely on to one of my gripes about the Common Worship ordination service in the way it is usually practiced.
The diaconate, as conceived of in the C of E, is not a Eucharistic function, so the vestments used and given and symbols, etc should not be Eucharistic ones. Yet many dioceses encourage or even only allow stoles to be given (rather than preaching scarves), and some even go so far as giving communion vessels as symbols of ordination to the diaconate, which makes little sense.
A certain diocese I know of gives Bibles to people at their ordination, and allows a free choice of stoles or preaching scarves. If it was down to me, I might altogether prohibit stoles from ordination to the diaconate…
I would agree. The dilemma for me is - I’m allowed to wear a scarf if I want, but no-one else will. So, do I really want to stick out like that for something that doesn’t make theological sense, but in the end is quite harmless?
At the last ordination I went to, 2 Oak Hill people wore scarves, 13 others didn’t. Of the robed ministers there, it was closer to 50/50.
I’ll probably also consult my training incumbent and might well wear what they wear to the ordination.