This is my last column for the Parish Magazine writing as an Ordinand. I am coming to the end of my first three years of formal training for ministry and will be ordained Deacon in Guildford Cathedral on 5^th July. I really do hope some of you will be able to make the journey to the Cathedral to see the 18 new Deacons being ordained for Guildford Diocese. It will be a wonderful service with much to celebrate. Apart from anything else, you will see proof positive that the Church of England is alive and well.

I've been trying to think how best to describe my feelings as I approach this significant moment in my life. I am about to end a period of three years of dedicated study. I have hardly been involved in parish events simply because I've either not been here or I have been slaving over text books or my computer trying to write yet another assignment. The result of my studies should be that I am awarded a Dip HE in Theology later this year. Ending my studies should also mean that I am able to spend more time in both parishes being with real people rather than dusty tomes. That is something I am eagerly anticipating. But the study and learning never end; they last a lifetime.

Some of you will probably know the source of these words "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Churchill had a lot to celebrate when he said these words. After a lot of hard work and effort, back in 1942, Alexander and Montgomery had won a decisive victory over Rommel in Egypt and the whole future direction of the war had taken on a different shape. In the same sense, I am also at a point where there will be significant changes in the direction of my life. I will leave behind the unremitting pressures of the last three years to complete essays to what often seemed impossible timescales. As an ordained minister I will join the ministry team to work under the guidance of William Lang here in Thursley and Elstead. Apart from being able to help out with some services on Sundays, I will also start to help William with some of the other things he does in the parishes.

However, as for a lot of professional people this isn't the end of my training. As a Deacon, I will continue to attend on-the-job training courses run by the Diocese but I will also have the time William will need to teach me about the various aspects of practical ministry within a parish. My ordination doesn't suddenly convert me into an expert capable of everything! I will still be very much a trainee and, in the coming year or two, there will still be much to learn that I have not yet covered in these last three years. However, most of my future training will be by practical application and by talking and sharing experiences with William Lang who is my official "Training Incumbent". In a way, it is like the final year of an apprenticeship.

Provided the various assessments of my performance in this coming year are satisfactory and I have another successful interview with Bishop Christopher next year, then in June/July 2010 I will ordained as a priest to serve in Elstead and Thursley. Until then I am limited in what I am allowed to do; in essence I will not be able to grant absolution, give blessings or consecrate the elements for Holy Communion until I am a priest.

From my point of view, in the coming year it will be good to be able to meet and spend time with people again instead of permanently thinking about written work still to be completed. Do spare a thought for William though since it is never easy training someone else and explaining to a novice the whys and wherefores of actions and methods that are so familiar that they seem obvious to you.

Thank you once again for all your support and prayers over the past three years. They have all meant so much to me and have been very much appreciated. Please do continue to pray for me in the lead up to my ordination. Angela and I join the other Ordinands and their spouses for a lunch with Bishop Christopher at Willow Grange on Thursday 2^nd July ands then all the Ordinands are locked away in Ladywell Convent on our pre-ordination retreat until we reappear in the Cathedral on the Sunday morning. Exciting times lie ahead!