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STUDENT STORY: ERIN PICKERSGILL
Erin is a second year ordinand, studying the MA TMM in the East Midlands.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO TRAIN FOR ORDINATION AT ST MELLITUS COLLEGE?
I had friends who studied at St Mellitus College and gave it such high praise. As a person who has had a range of church experiences in my life, and wouldn’t know whether to call myself an evangelical, a charismatic, a liturgical person, a contemplative or a mystic, I feel at home in St Mellitus College's generous orthodoxy which is both taught and practiced with the utmost integrity.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ST MELLITUS COLLEGE, EAST MIDLANDS?
When I got through my BAP, I felt like I should defer my training a year. Some of that feeling made sense – my youngest had one more year of preschool, and I wanted to hang out with her a little more. But I also had a feeling of not wanting to rush this whole process. I found out later that St Mellitus College, East Midlands, which is a short commute away from me, would be starting the year I would start, because I had deferred. I loved the idea of not commuting all the way to London, and to have training based more locally. That felt important to me. In my life I have often been drawn to the beginnings of things, and so wanted to throw myself into the new community of St Mellitus College East Midlands if they’d have me!
WHAT HAS BEEN A HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR STUDIES?
One highlight of my studies is to be studying alongside such a remarkable formation group. The community there has been vulnerable and strong since the beginning, which I can only really accredit to the work of the Holy Spirit and the leadership who modelled this kind of leadership. The second highlight of studying has been the way I’ve felt encouraged to link study with devotional life. I have loved watching them intersect, inspire the other, play, and ask questions of each other. I have grown in that space between them.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TIME AT ST MELLITUS COLLEGE?
I would describe my time at St Mellitus a little like being given the keys to a new way of living - being given permission, time and space, to explore theology and prayer, and my own personal formation into the likeness of Christ, in a way that I have never been able to before. Yes, the study can be intense and challenging, and so can ministry life - but there is a real sense that what God does during this time is very unique and I see it as a gift.
