March 2023: What is God's plan for me?
Each month, the Church of Scotland's ‘Talking Ministry' series will share a personal story from those serving in Christian ministry, along with resources filled with questions, prayers and reflections to help encourage reflection on how God might be calling you at this time.
For March, Rev Seòras Orr talks about his experience and the part humour can play in delivering the Christian message and we explore the theme, What is God's plan for me?
My ministry: Rev Seòras Orr
Brought up near Aviemore, Rev Seòras Orr is in his first charge as Minister of Word and Sacrament further along the Spey valley in the joint parish of Bellie and Speymouth.
He lives in Fochabers with his wife Debbie and children Sullivan (Sullie) and Madeline.
You began your career as a minister at a relatively young age, so when did you start to realise this was the right path for you?
I grew up as part of a wee Church of Scotland congregation at Alvie and Insh near Aviemore, but it was never particularly on the horizon that I was going to be a parish minister.
I did study theology at university in St Andrews, but at that point I was wanting to be a pilot in the RAF – as my school guidance teacher said: "He's away to study theology and join the RAF, so either way he's getting closer to God!"
But the closer I got to pursuing a scholarship to go into the RAF, the more I started to feel this wasn't perhaps what I was supposed to do.
After conversations with some trusted people and lots of prayer and thought, I felt drawn more towards chaplaincy. But then I found out you had to be a civilian minister first, so I begrudgingly began training for parish ministry and began to realise this was probably what I was meant to do with the next chapter of my life.
I started training quite early. I was probably only about 20 when I began training and when I started as a minister, I could still use my Young Scot card and go to the General Assembly as part of the Youth Assembly! It does mean my ministry has had a different shape and I have had different skills to contribute, but ministry today is no longer a one-size-fits-all profession. There is such a variety of people and backgrounds in ministry now and everybody brings something different to the table.
What did you gain from your training experiences?
I took a Masters at Edinburgh University and did my probation at Barclay Viewforth Church in Edinburgh with Rev Sam Torrens, who was the minister at that time. I had a good variety of experiences because I grew up in a wee rural Highland church and I had my placements in a town church at Newport, then in an Edinburgh prison and then in an urban priority area, before my probationary period in an inner city church.
I got so much out of my placements compared to the academic study and working in the prison particularly was pretty intense. On the first day, we had our personal protection training and on the second day, the chaplain said to me: "Now don't get too spooked by all of that self-defence stuff. It's really not as bad as all that." Then just as the words came out of her mouth, a prisoner barged me out of the way, jumped on a guy ahead of us, and bit his ear!
I've had some very moving experiences as part of my training. One in particular being a peace-building trip to Rwanda with a group of young Scottish Christians and Muslims. It was heartbreaking to learn more about the genocide there, and how division and hatred can lead to such horrendous actions. But it was also very interesting to experience what it means to talk about faith and life with others who also hold strong views on those things. How to build friendships and connections with those from very different backgrounds in a genuine way.
What drew you to Bellie and Speymouth as your first charge?
Bellie and Speymouth just jumped off the page when we were looking at churches. It very clearly stood out as the church Debbie and I felt called to and we were delighted the congregation felt the same. The way they talked about church and mission just seemed like the way we talked about things. We came incognito to have a look at it one Sunday and when we came away, Debs said: "It feels like we are leaving home." It felt very strongly like that straight away and the more we prayed about it, the more we thought that was where God was leading us to.
The congregation is absolutely brilliant and I love them all to bits. We have a very healthy generational mix with folk of every age and stage.
We had a sleepout in aid of Social Action and we had everyone from a nine-year old to a 70-year old sleeping on the floor. I feel very fortunate to be part of a church where everyone feels involved.
That was one of the things I valued about church when I was growing up and realised the best thing for nurturing people's faith is getting them involved, whether it's on the tech side or performing in a church band. When you are involved, you grow, you learn, you make mistakes, but you feel a real part of the church.
Humour has become an important element for your services at Bellie and Speymouth. How did that come about?
I still get teased about my first proper Sunday. Because the first Sunday of my induction was a united service for the two congregations, it was at a different time from normal, so the next week the doorbell rang and it was the session clerk saying the service started five minutes ago! I never moved so fast in my life and I had no option but to come in and make fun of myself
That first service slip-up really helped set the tone and since then I have tried to start worship with a laugh, so I start with a really bad Dad Joke and measure the success of that by the groans of the congregation! The second half of the service is more reflective. I just like that rhythm of both joy and reflective worship because those two elements are not opposed and are both part of the service.
There was a time when ministry was a terribly serious profession. Our session room used to have the portraits of the last couple of hundred years of ministers, including some very stern looking gentlemen staring down at me very judgementally about me dressing up as a monkey or preparing a magic trick or something like that!
I have tried to create an environment where things are relaxed and fun and joyful, but also where people can be honest and have the full range of emotions. People can come to church with a tracksuit and a smile or come with a suit and any burdens they need to give up that week, and everything in between.
What advice would you give to anyone contemplating ministry?
I think it's a bit like becoming a parent: It helps if you really, really want it! In the toughest moments you have to really care for this thing that is quite emotionally draining at times and going in, you have to really want it. I think the training emphasises that and helps filter the motivations out.
There are the great moments, like when someone comes to faith or where just being there makes a difference, and that is a big help in the times where you don't feel you are making a difference.
But I was thinking what I would say to someone going into the ministry and it would be: "Take what you do seriously, but don't take yourself seriously."
Because you can make a lot of it your own, there is an opportunity to have a lot of fun with ministry, and for me, that is really important.
My son, Sullie, even has a YouTube channel with a puppet of his called Hamish the Coo because of the kids' videos we made over lockdown to help them learn about faith, and as time has gone on, the congregation has got to know me and know that I like to have a laugh.
For me, it is important to be the same person up the front of the church on Sunday as I am day to day. I have a role within the church to lead and teach, but I can't do that well unless people see me as approachable and relatable and know I am not just there for the sad things.
I really like a verse from 'The Message' version of Micah, which talks about what we should take seriously:
Micah 6:8
But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what GOD is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
March Discernment Resources: What is God's plan for me?
Called according to God's purpose
The idea of ‘calling' is one the most recurrent and evocative themes in the New Testament. The almighty, loving Creator is the one who calls (e.g 1 Peter:1:5) and those who respond inherit the esteemed honour of being ‘called according to God's purpose' (e.g. Hebrews 9:15).
Our principal calling is to be formed into ever greater Christlikeness. Just like everyone who is privileged to be adopted as a son or daughter of God, we are not suddenly cloned into conformity, but rather invited to be formed progressively into a unique expression of the fullness of the character of Jesus, an inimitable manifestation of the Spirit's fruit (love, joy, peace and much, much more) expressed and revealed in and through a unique personality.
God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
Romans 8:29-30, MSG
Along this way of faith there are many things that are true for all of us – and there are tasks and trials, wonders and opportunities that unique to us. In the providence and grace of God our particular set of life experiences, skills and aptitudes, gifts and passions, and, not least our wounds and weaknesses, limitations and vulnerabilities, are both a snapshot of a work in progress and preparation for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
If, as Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, we are God's workmanship, formed anew in Christ for ‘good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life' (Ephesians 1:10, NRSV), then what could be more vital than to discern what those ‘good works' are? However, we do well to remember that we discern and encounter the ‘good works' that constitute part of the adventure of faith for us in the context of that wider, ultimate journey into Christian formation. If our obedience to God is to be more than ‘an annoying noise' (1 Corinthians 13:1), it needs to be rooted in the love he is cultivating in us.
But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
Micah 6:8, MSG
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11, NRSV
To contemplate/discuss
What might a map of my ‘adventure of faith' to this point look like?
How do I perceive ‘God's workmanship' in progress in this particular season of my life?
What attitude or posture might best facilitate God's priority for the formation of ‘ever greater Christlikeness' in me?
How might I regularly remind myself that I am ‘called according to God's purpose'?
Who is best able to help me discern the unique blend of experiences and gifts, wounds and weaknesses that characterise me at this point in life?
What inklings of the ‘good works' God has prepared for me might be stirring in me today?
Prayer
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for thee.
Amen.
(Frances Ridley Havergal)
An obsession merely with doing all God commands may be the very thing that rules out being the kind of person that he calls us to be
Dallas Willard
More information
If you would like to consider how God might be calling you to serve at this time, you may want to discuss further with your minister or be in touch with your Presbytery to explore local opportunities.
If you are interested in exploring a call to the recognised ministries of the Church, you can find more information on our vocations page and can contact ministry@churchofscotland.org.uk for a Discernment Conversation with one of the Recruitment Team.