tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366621735995057721.post7617499544485931332..comments2024-03-17T09:17:01.454+00:00Comments on Vic the Vicar!: Vocations: Collared or Covert and Covered?Vic Van Den Berghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09581156515370131898noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366621735995057721.post-9048850780353012252013-10-10T08:49:27.565+01:002013-10-10T08:49:27.565+01:00Wearing the collar proclaims to the world that you...Wearing the collar proclaims to the world that you represent God (whatever denomination you belong to) so, wearing it sets you aside, it singles you out for who and what you are.<br /><br />The reality for many is that they forget that the person behind the collar is a fellow human being, with all of the frailties and vulnerabilities that go with it.<br /><br />Surely, wearing the collar is something that you do when you are going around, but just sometimes, when you are with your family, on holiday or off duty, wearing the collar isn't necessarily appropriate?<br /><br />Bit like the Army, I wore uniform to and from duty, but wore a civilian jacket in the car. This was possibly for reasons of personal security and that fact that while my close neigbbours knew that I was in the Army, the wider community didn't. Off duty, the uniform was cast aside and apart from the haircut (in the seventies and eighties) nobody would know whether or not I was a soldier, unless I told them.<br /><br />I read the book "Called or Collared" by Francis Dewar who made the point about his vocation being pushed onto him, and he followed the lead given. Only to realise some way down the line that he was in the wrong place, doing the wrong job.<br /><br />He remains a Priest but has moved away from public ministry to do other things. His was a vocation affirmed by the Church at the time, I wonder how many others were pushed into ordination through similar pressures? People thought they'd make a good priest, so convinced them to offer for Ordination. <br /><br />It seems to me that once Ordained, and in public ministry, you need to accept the public role you take on and to be known for who and what you are - whether with collar or not. How you do this will vary, but perhaps by your mode of behaviour out of "uniform" so to speak, you continue to be the priest you are.UKViewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18114944341930758335noreply@blogger.com