Dear friendsTwice a year I sit on a national selection panel as part of the discernment process for those feeling called to ordination. I was on one of these panels this week, and having met some wonderful candidates, of all ages, I feel confident that the future of the Church of England is in safe hands!!I heard stories of people involved in their local churches, some doing simple and loving acts of service to the community or in their places of work, some creating spaces for conversation for those with faith as well as those with none, some preaching for the first time and feeling terrified, yet certain it was the right thing to do; all of whom had deep loving relationships with God in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.It can be easy to hear these stories and think "well yes, this is because they are called to be vicars", but of course the reality is that every person who chooses to say "yes" to the invitation to follow Jesus (and I would hope that means every person who comes to church) has a vocation, even if it doesn't have a capital "V" and involve wearing some kind of robe!I wonder when the last time you thought about your vocation was? This doesn't mean the things you do for the church, although that is wonderful. I suggest it means the response to live your life as a result of accepting God's love fully into your life, every day, every moment, in every encounter. It means seeing the world as God sees it - fairly easy perhaps: taking seriously a love of creation, sharing in the care of the planet... It also means seeing others as God sees them - perhaps more difficult? Seeing everyone as made in the image of Jesus; not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking about ourselves less as we consider those around us and make decisions about how we live; being prepared to compromise, to make room for others point of view, to bend towards the needs of other ... This is much more tricky isn't it! And then of course, the final part of the puzzle of discerning our vocation, seeing ourselves as God sees us: beloved, chosen, precious, salt and light for the world, loved as we are but loved too much to be left where we are!I wonder if this week you can find space to be still and offer those three elements to God in a time of prayer - "God help me to see the world as you see it, God help me to see others as you see them, God help me to see myself as you see me". I hope if you are able to do that (and I would put aside at least 15 minutes of quiet time, perhaps with a lit candle, to do this), that it will be such a special time for you, and that God might even reveal something to you in this. I would love to hear about it.This weekend there is lots going on! Hopefully the balloon launch will happen at Redcatch Park - I'll be there on Saturday evening. Then some of you are going to Lincoln to share in Susanna's ordination service, otherwise we will gather as always at 8.30am for our traditional service of Holy Communion, and then at 10.30am for our all age "All Together" communion service. You're invited, it would be great to see you.And just another reminder, that next week (2 July) there will be just one service at 8.30am as we will be at the Cathedral at 10.30am for the ordination of our new curate Phil.With every blessing, as everBecky