Tonight I was joined in the studio by Stuart and Andy, both recently ordained deacons in the Church of England. They talked about their journeys to ordination and the pathways to training. Stuart had trained in Oxford and Andy in Cambridge. They both clearly found the experience very rewarding and spoke about some aspects of the training. The retreat prior to ordination had been from Wednesday to Saturday. This had been silent, including having no phone or e-mail communication. This had clearly been a helpful time to reflect on the personal journey and to look forward to the future. Since ordination they had both been busy, getting used to being in ministry, observing lots of services and events and getting used to wearing a collar. Stuart and Andy both said everything felt very natural. They both spoke about the record numbers of people going forward for ordination and that there were many growing and vibrant churches. They also chose some tracks for us. We had a number of requests this evening. We also found time to look at some news stories, including one from the University of Essex looking to build the biggest swimming pool in the world, to be used for space research. Jamie Harrington in Dublin saw a man sitting on the edge of a bridge in Dublin. He asked “Are you O.K?” This lead to a conversation and talking the man down. Now, three months later, the man’s wife is pregnant with a boy, whom they plan to name after Jamie.

Tonight’s playlist

Nathan Carter – Beautiful life
Cilla Black – Alfie – made after 31 takes.
Smashmouth – All Star – chosen by Stuart
Kylie Minogue – I should be so lucky – chosen by Andy
Elbow – One day like this – chosen by Stuart
Coldplay – Fix you – chosen by Andy
Adele – Skyfall – chosen by Stuart
Snow Patrol – Chasing cars – chosen by Andy
Sam Smith – Not the only one – requested by Ollie
Dusty Springfield – I only want to be with you – requested by Patrick
Meghan Trainor – Dear future husband – requested by Michael
Bellowhead – 10000 miles away – requested by Phyl for Jackie & Derek
Stevie Wonder – Have a talk with God
Jon Mitchel – Big yellow taxi – for Lee working hard in the kitchen
Jason Isbell – Something more than free – for everyone listening in Nashville, Kentucky and other parts of the U.S.A.
Don Henley – Take a picture of this
Ron Truman Turner – American Ghosts – for Tom

Join me next week for more Friday Night Extra, live from Brentwood.
twitter @RevPatrickS

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