The Fourth Sunday after Easter (or ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’) has traditionally been a
Sunday in the year when the church gives thanks for and prays for vocations.
Each and every Christian person has a vocation to be the person God created them to
be and that can involve some serious questions about lifestyle and our use of our time
and talents. Archbishop Rowan Williams famously said that ‘God gives to the church
everything that the church needs to be the church’ and so we can give thanks that
latent within our communities and congregations are the people, skills and talents that
the church needs for the future.
Vocations Sunday, and the Diocesan Vocations Day to be held at The Old Palace next
Saturday, 23 April, are an opportunity to look at ourselves and ask if we are making
the best use of those resources both personally and corporately in our work to join with
God in building the kingdom. What might God be calling us to do both in our lives in the
world and in society, and also in the life of our community of faith?
Please pray for the vocation of the church generally, for the vocation of your particular
community of faith, and for your personal vocation as a disciple and fellow builder of
God’s kingdom.
Worcester East Deanery – Rural Dean: Stuart Currie; Lay Chair: Michael Bunclark
Diocese of Derby: Bishop Alastair Redfern
Diocese of Clogher (Ireland): Bishop John McDowell
Diocese of Aalborg (Denmark): Bishop Henning Toft Bro
The Anglican Communion in Japan: Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu
