St Pauls Anglican Cathedral, London, UK

Are you under 40?
Want to serve those who are poor … to pray … and live in community …
Thought about Religious Life?

Why not try
Exlploring francsican life

In the previous post A Vocation Journey: meeting St Francis I wrote about how my dear friend Wendy had taken me to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ. I also wrote about how that place felt like a ‘place of presence’ and that I was particularly taken by a small figurine in the garden of a man holding birds in his hands.

As Wendy pointed out in a previous comment neither of us realized the magic that was occurring that day. It wasn’t until I continued my journey to the UK that the ‘next step in a journey of a thousand miles’ would reveal the next kairos moment in my vocation journey.

Prior to leaving Australia my friend Emma and I had become regular worshipers at a local community church. I even began to think about pursuing a vocation to the priesthood once again. I had actually had feelings about some form of ‘ministry’, perhaps as a missionary, since I was a teenager, however, circumstances often resulted in that not being realised. It was an indication that my feelings toward the church had undergone quite a healing process.

When I arrived in London I wanted to continue attending church and began looking around for some place to worship. I was living and working at the Great Ormond St Hospital for Children, not far from Central London. I looked around at a few places but I did not really ‘connect’ with anywhere. I had spent most of my childhood through to early adulthood in the Salvation Army but had moved on from the Army for various reasons, so I did not feel at home there. I stopped into a few non denominational ‘community’ or ‘local’ churches but did not really feel at home their either.

In-between my Salvo days and the community church I attended with my friend Emma I had tried out several mainstream and very on (or over) the edge christian, pagan and cult churches and religions. I think I was beginning to get onto that cycle again. Then I arrived at a place I felt I could connect with.

On a ‘Red Bus’ tour of London one day I stopped to visit St Paul’s Cathedral. Not wanting to pay to see a church I decided to attend one of the services, and then do the tourist thing afterward. The music and the liturgy of the worship really spoke to me in a way that other liturgies had not. The colours of vestments, the singing of the hymns and psalms, the Eucharistic prayers, all of this really got inside me. It had been a long time since I felt ‘at home’ in a church. From that day on St Paul’s was to be my regular (well as regular as one can on shift work) place of worship. I joined the Friends of St Paul’s which got me into the church for free outside of service times and I explored that place literally from top to bottom; from the crypt to the gallery, to the outside of the top of the Cathedral dome. I knew that place inside out.

I had been living in London for less than a year when another dear friend and ‘mother’ came to visit the UK. Indeed it was Julie who had been instrumental in my making the move to work in London. She loved England and had always wanted to visit it. I think some of her encouragement of my trip was part of her longing to see the UK as well. When I heard Julie, her daughter Mel, and some of their friends were coming to London I was stoked. I was missing home a little, but more than that I had the opportunity to show my friends around. I was really glad to see them, for if not for Julie’s constant persuasion I may never had actually made the move to go there.

We didn’t have a lot of time to show them around as they had made plans for a cook’s tour of some of the places Julie had always wanted to go to. While in London it was decided we would do the ‘Red Bus’ tour. I seem to recally not being all that excited about doing the bus tour … been there done that. However, off we went.

The bus did its usual route and we stopped off at St Paul’s. While inside the others were wandering around looking here and there looking at this great piece of church history. Meanwhile, not being overly keen on the idea of the bus trip in the first place I wandered around, almost aimlessly, while they took in the sight and atmosphere for the first time.

Exploring Franciscan Life: vocation pamphlet from St Pauls, London.

Over in the corner near the exit I saw a small unobtrusive table. On it was a pile of green pamphlets that attracted my attention; being a compulsive pamphlet collecter. I quickly viewed the cover noting the questions at the top of the paper:

Are you under 40?
Want to serve those who are poor … to pray … and live in community …
Thought about Religious Life?

Why not try

Exploring Franciscan Life

As I read those questions I could hear myself saying YES!. For some reason there was something about those questions that opened up something inside, it was like through them I had found an answer to a question that had played over and over in my mind throughout most of my life. It is a little hard to explain, however, it is one of those moments where for the briefest of seconds everything in life makes sense.

I was careful not to let the others see I had picked up the pamphlet. I looked around, no they were no where in sight. To be sure they didn’t see me I quickly put it in my pocket and kept wandering around.

Julie and Mel are two of the greatest influences in my life. They have been through great joys and sorrows with me. I don’t know why I didn’t want them to see the pamphlet, they have supported me in all decisions I have made in my life. Though they would not call themselves religious, they have never said a bad word against my beliefs.

I eventually found them and we got back into the bus to continue on the tour. I sat behind them. I wanted to read more of the pamplet I had picked up. Though I was still not keen on letting anyone know I had taken an interest in its contents. I surreptitiously read its contents.

Inside the Franciscan vocation pamphlet (click for larger view)

As I read about St Francis and learned of the life and work of the Anglican Franciscan sisters and brothers that kairos moment of clarity happened again. My curiosity was more than peaked now. I had to know more about who these Franciscans were and what were they all about.

The pamphlet was advertising a vocations day jointly run by Anglican and Roman Catholic Franciscans. A day to hear stories of vocation, find out about their life, have some Biblical reflection, share questions and answers, followed by lunch and an ecumenical liturgy in St Martins-in-the-Field church. I had to know more, there was a website, but how to slip away from the group. I made some feeble excuse and went off to the nearest internet cafe to look up the website of the Franciscan vocation team from Hilfield Friary, Dorset.

As I indicated earlier I knew little of religious communities. A far cry from Salvation Army life, and further still from some of the odd ‘religious’ groups I had encountered on my religious wanderings. I think my only concept of religious life was what I got from television, the only one of which had any real impact was The Nun’s Story, staring Audrey Hepburn as Sr Luke a Nun who is driven to serve the poor through caring for the sick in the Congo. I may have seen other movies, or had other ideas but none that really stuck with me. Though I do recall being intrigued as to whether or not there were male Nuns doing the same. I think the impact of this movie was what fueled my interest in being a missionary when I was in the Salvos, that and the stories of missionaries who would come to our Corps.

I checked out the website of the vocations team and I was more than convinced that I wanted to attend that vocations day. I sent off an email straight away to make contact with a member of the vocations team.

In the next post I want to continue this vocation journey by recounting my first encounter with the Franciscans … A Vocation Journey: meeting Br John-Francis.

Most people who read this blog will be somewhat familiar with the story of how I came to learn about the Society of St Francis, the Anglican Franciscan Community. Well, this is St Paul’s Cathedral London, UK; where it all began. Part of my wanting to visit the UK was to re-visit some of that early sense of call to vocation within a Franciscan religious community.

Not long after moving to London for work I started attending services at St Paul’s Cathedral. Later in that year some friends from Australia visited me while on holidays in the UK. During the ‘Red Bus’ tour we stopped to visit St Paul’s. While they were wandering around I noticed a small table at the entrance which had some pamphalets on it; the front had a picture of a ‘monk’ on it, along with a series of questions asking the reader whether or not they had felt called to explore religious life. Not to be seen by my friends I quickly folded it and put it into my pocket, only taking it out to read it later when my friends could not see what I was reading. Shortly after I made quick tracks to an internet cafe where I could find out more about this religious community. The pamphalet was an invitation to explore Franciscan religious life.

I emailed the vocation director who said he would drop by to see me while in London. I of course got cold feet and went out to the movies that day. He did however come and left a number of brochures abour St Francis and the Society of St Francis. The more I read about the life of St Francis, and how he tried to live his life in imitation of Christ, the more I felt that God was indeed calling me to live my life as part of a Franciscan religious community. I attended the vocation day at St Martins-in-the-Fields Church. Although it was a little while later before I actually joined the Society of St Francis, my visit to St Paul’s that day was one of the defining moments of my sense of being called to Franciscan religious life.

It was good to re-visit St Paul’s today. As I was sitting in the Cathedral one of the Cathedral guides came to talk with me. It was nice to share with her how my visit to St Paul’s had been such an important part of my call to religious life. It is good to be able to recall these moments. There are times when we can be too caught up in the busyness and distractions of the world and forget that it is God who calls us to live our lives as people of God. Thus in re-visiting those significant moments in our lives, either by physical journeying, or remembering through sharing our stories, we can continue to re-affirm not only God’s call but our response to God’s call. This is particularly important for those many moments when worldly busyness and distractions tempt us to forget that it is God who calls us and it is us who respond.