Questions For The Vicars Son

[matty]

O.K so i said long ago i would do this basically any questions related to living with a vicar(COE equivelant of a pastor but in COE its a full time job). I will answer almost any question about life or anything to do with the subject however any theological views on COE can be put in another thread unless it is relevant to this disscussion.
Just a nice neat form.

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Question:[/b]


So throw them at me from all directions, Josh I said i'd do it one day and I finally got round to it. Before you ask my age i'm 13.

[Josh]

So, what are a vicar's main duties?

Preaching? Visiting people/ Pastoral duties? Officiating? Liturgical?

[matty]

Only one question well here goes.
A vicars main duties are often pastoral work, being their for people. Presiding other communion at services and sermons. Although they also do home communion, hospital visiting(along with other parishioners) and a nice mountain of paperwork.
As for preaching at our current church the sermons are shared out between my mam, the incumbent and occassionaly the reader.
If this doesn't answer your question please tell me.

[matty]

Any More Questions

[Josh]

Paperwork.....

Man I'm glad I don't have much of that in my pastoral experience (I've got enough of it in my day job)

[matty]

I can imagine being a teacher, so tell me do you hand your lesson plans in before the lesson, after the lesson or four months later when the secretary chases them up?

[Josh]

Don't have to hand them in at all.

Hey- can I ask general COE church-practice kind of questions here?

Like, for instance, do you like the Anglican liturgy? What are your favorite parts? Any parts or aspects you would change?

Also, how long has the COE had female vicars?

[matty]

O.K Josh here goes.
My views on Anglican Liturgy
I take it you mean service liturgy not the bible as the bibles the same.
Its o.k overrall but i feel that parts of it may be slightly old fashioned although as long as the vicar doesn't deliberatly make the service like a history lesson with Mr. Boring it normally is good liturgy. Bits of it could be improved but its on the whole good.
Woman vicars i'm just going to check but i think its the 80s, yep 1987 was the first year female vicars were ordained. The church allowed female deacons from 1861 but they couldn't function as deacons and wouldn't be ordained under any circumstances and this legislation was widely unknown.

[matty]

Any More from anyne else. Josh will you try and get a few more people on this thread.

[Josh]

You wouldn't want me to entice them with points would you?

I think the problem here is that I'm one of the few here who has a serious addiction for all things British. ;D

I'VE got another one, though.

Give me a breakdown of a typcial Sunday service, like:

15 min singing
30 min preaching
20 min liturgy

etc...

[matty]

While since i've been(staying at my dads on Sat nights) but you basically have the Welcome followed by a song, the asking for god's forgiveness and scripture reading followed by a song then gospel reading then sermon then the peace. Still Following then a song then the Eucheristic prayer, then the lords prayer then the prayer before communion and then the prayer after communiun the a song and finally the blessing. Then you've got to wait for the old ladies to finish what i call Sunday Social Club with their teas.
Give them 2 for replying here.

[Josh]

Then you've got to wait for the old ladies to finish what i call Sunday Social Club with their teas.

;D

Give them 2 for replying here.

You see how quickly your high-minded idealist resistance to the contest withers!

Another question: so, how long is the typical sermon?

Oh, and who appoints a vicar and what qualifications do they have to have?

[matty]

Yeh Josh, you caught me out there don't give them anything for replying. Anyway a typical sermon is 5-10 minutes long. A vicar is ordained by the Bishop after they've attended one of various 'vicar schools'.

[Josh]

5-10 minute sermon is pretty short by most American church standards.

At Aletheia we don't usually have "sermons" per se, we have interactive teachings that usually last about an hour.

Typical Aletheia meeting: 30 minutes singing/ testimonies/ prayer requests, 60 minutes teaching/ lesson, 15 minutes communion, followed by lunch.

Every so often we have a meeting of just singing, praise and thanksgiving, confession, mutual exhortation, and communion.

[matty]

So your sermon- all that teaching and lessons is quite long. And actually think it over again a sermon is between 10 and 20 minutes.

[christopher]

5-10 minute sermon is pretty short by most American church standards.

True, but that's also about as long as most Americans retain consciousness during a sermon.

So, maybe the Anglicans are on to something...a lean no-nonsense sermon. I like it.

Now the 60 minute discussions we have at ACF, are entirely too short. We need a few more hours. ;D

[matty]

60 minute disscussion i wonder how many people are snoring in that room chris. If i went their i'd have to take my mp3 player if only i had a ipod. Anyway i'm a kid(sort-of) so you wouldn't expect me to attend one of those meetings.