Ferdinand von Prodnzynski has recently finished his initial ministerial training with SEI and is preparing for his deaconing in the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney in Autumn. Reflecting on his upcoming ordination whilst on holiday, Ferdinand writes,
‘The journey towards ordination takes each of us past various milestones, some of which have an unexpected nature. As my studies with the Scottish Episcopal Institute came to an end and the date of ordination comes closer, I have found that for a while the dominant feeling is one of letting go, with its notes occasionally of sadness. I have been with my fellow-students across all cohorts for the last time, I am preparing to leave my home charge as I move to my curacy, I am leaving behind the things I “did” in church – like serving at the altar.
Of course, our pilgrimage of faith regularly takes us past things we must leave behind even as it points us to those we look forward to. But all these things and people have shaped us, allowed us to grow, brought us closer to God, and even when the journey takes us onwards they remain part of us. This will be a theme of my reflections in our pre-ordination retreat.
Right now, I am with members of my family as we enjoy a vacation together in South Carolina. For them too some things will be different now, but they travel on with me and give me strength. South Carolina has many tree-lined country roads, and right now for me they feel like avenues of my pilgrimage. May all of us have such roads for our journey.’
Image courtesy of Ferdinand von Prondzynski
