There were members of the CPM who were quite offended by my saying that as I have moved through the process myself, and as I've watched other people do the same, my theology of ordination has gotten lower and lower until I've reached the point where, much of the time, it seems to me as little more than a union card.
Since I am already ordained as an Elder, it seems that the main things that ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament would gain me is access to a group of jobs that I can't apply for now and a certain guaranteed level of benefits if I get one of those jobs.
What does that make ordination but a union card?
Sure I would be able to administer the Sacraments, but, with the permission of a COM, I can do that now. And I have.
The problem is, I really want one of those jobs that I can only get if I am ordained as a MoWS. I could be an educator, a chaplain, or a youth leader with out ordination, and those are all great jobs; but I want to be a preacher, I think I am called and gifted to be a preacher and all of the preacher jobs are behind the wall of ordination.
What's even more frustrating are the large number of not very good preachers out there who have managed to get their union cards get ordained.
I don't even know where to start...I'm quite the lurker on blogs and hardly ever post but it's so hard to read this stuff and know that I am going through the same process as you...but with very different results. You know, I went before our presbytery's COM yesterday because I received a call and am now going through more hoops. They've gotten a lot stricter since the last GA but it's still not too hard for me (and after hearing your troubles, I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I seem "more traditional." I'm sorry that things aren't like they should be. I should wrap this up b/c its a comments section and not an essay. If you decide to go to the meeting on the 19th, I'll see you there, they're making me be examined again. May people's hearts be opened to the Spirit.
Posted by: lindsey wade | October 11, 2006 at 12:57 PM