A dream coming true - Open Table volunteer accepts call to train for priesthood
Nick Campbell, co-founder of Open Table North Manchester, visiting the Open Table Liverpool community in April 2019. PHOTO: Mark Loudon
WE’RE DELIGHTED to share the news that a long-term supporter of Open Table has been recommended to begin training for ordination in The Church of England.
Nick Campbell, who helped to set up and run our North Manchester community, received the call last month from The Bishop of Manchester. Here Nick shares his response to the invitation:
This is an enormous honour and I’m so grateful that God has called me to serve in this way.
When I was a child I always imagined what I might be when I grew up. Fast forward to today, and I must admit I’m quite happy with my adult self. There have been a few ups and downs, that’s true, but I wouldn’t change much.
There were times in all those years though that I thought my identity as gay man would make the possibility of ordination in the church a dream that could never be fulfilled. Society thankfully has changed a little and to some degree so has the The Church of England. Things aren’t perfect, but I’m increasingly heartened by the number of churches who are pursuing an inclusive and affirming mission plan and agenda.
I’ll be looking at part-time ministry, which means I’ll carry on working in the ‘real world’ too. Twenty five years working as a Librarian at The University of Manchester has been a brilliant experience too, and I’m hopefully looking forward to many more years there.
I feel blessed that in the future, once training is complete, I’ll be able to share the gospel, not only through my ordained ministry in the Diocese of Manchester, but also in the workplace. Add to that the opportunity to share fellowship within our own Open Table community and I feel very fortunate indeed.
I’d like to thank the hundreds of folk who’ve guided me, prayed for me and supported me over the last ten years, in my family, at work, in the church and in the wonderful Open Table Network. Your support has meant the world to me.
Of course you don’t have to be a vicar to serve God. We’re all called to be disciples and, as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, our ministry is just as vital to the world as anyone else’s, perhaps even more so.
So I invite you to take a moment and listen for God’s voice in your life, and perhaps discern where he might be calling you next. You never know where you'll end up! As John the evangelist writes:
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
- 1 John 4:7
