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I Think It's God Calling
I Think It’s God Calling is Katy Magdalene Price’s revealing and amusing story of a church outsider from an atheist family, torn from the norms of fashion and riotous hen parties, who finds herself totally unprepared for being an insider in the process to train for the Church of England priesthood.
'What I needed was an official diagnosis. I knew that people had this thing called ‘vocation’, but I had no idea whether what I was experiencing was the same. What I really needed was someone to tell me, ‘No, don’t worry, you don’t have a vocation. You’re just going mad.’ (p. 16)
Katy’s observations, which began life as a blog to help other disoriented Christian vocation hunters, are certainly amusing as they detail the viewpoint of a normal office worker on a process rooted in tradition and seemingly out of touch with the modern age.
'Yet I did notice one odd thing about the make-up of the group. As we gathered in the chapel, I kept my eyes lowered and noticed that mine were the only shoes with heels.' (p. 48)
I Think It’s God Calling follows Katy from her first surprising encounter with God in the liturgy of Compline, through the Anglican interview process of tea and a chat, learning to ‘speak Christian’ and feeling the pain of rejection, to her acceptance for training at Mirfield—where she acquires a cloak perfect for Hallowe’en, medieval fayres and Harry Potter conventions. And finally, we stand alongside her as she steps out into her first curacy with a clear warning not to get drunk in public or to wear jeans and jumpers to important meetings!
Amusing, yes, but within its addictive pages there lies the challenge to discover a more serious practical faith, and the deep heart-searching of a woman battling to find her place in a man’s world who is never quite allowed to forget the depression that had been part of her life some years before.
'I had no enemy, nobody who bore me any malice, just a group of prayerful and careful and well-intentioned Christians who had accidentally given me a slap in the face. One of the interviewers had simply misread my form. Another, in spite of my medical clearance, was concerned about my past history of depression and wanted to protect me from all the stressful aspects of ministry.' (p. 54)
While this is her own personal story, ‘It’s not really about me,’ writes Katy; ‘it’s a story about God, and the amazing things he does with the most unlikely people.’
Inspiring, honest, challenging and definitely funny!
'I wanted an easy life. What God has given me is life itself, life in abundance. Sometimes, it feels like too much life to handle!'
'What I needed was an official diagnosis. I knew that people had this thing called ‘vocation’, but I had no idea whether what I was experiencing was the same. What I really needed was someone to tell me, ‘No, don’t worry, you don’t have a vocation. You’re just going mad.’ (p. 16)
Katy’s observations, which began life as a blog to help other disoriented Christian vocation hunters, are certainly amusing as they detail the viewpoint of a normal office worker on a process rooted in tradition and seemingly out of touch with the modern age.
'Yet I did notice one odd thing about the make-up of the group. As we gathered in the chapel, I kept my eyes lowered and noticed that mine were the only shoes with heels.' (p. 48)
I Think It’s God Calling follows Katy from her first surprising encounter with God in the liturgy of Compline, through the Anglican interview process of tea and a chat, learning to ‘speak Christian’ and feeling the pain of rejection, to her acceptance for training at Mirfield—where she acquires a cloak perfect for Hallowe’en, medieval fayres and Harry Potter conventions. And finally, we stand alongside her as she steps out into her first curacy with a clear warning not to get drunk in public or to wear jeans and jumpers to important meetings!
Amusing, yes, but within its addictive pages there lies the challenge to discover a more serious practical faith, and the deep heart-searching of a woman battling to find her place in a man’s world who is never quite allowed to forget the depression that had been part of her life some years before.
'I had no enemy, nobody who bore me any malice, just a group of prayerful and careful and well-intentioned Christians who had accidentally given me a slap in the face. One of the interviewers had simply misread my form. Another, in spite of my medical clearance, was concerned about my past history of depression and wanted to protect me from all the stressful aspects of ministry.' (p. 54)
While this is her own personal story, ‘It’s not really about me,’ writes Katy; ‘it’s a story about God, and the amazing things he does with the most unlikely people.’
Inspiring, honest, challenging and definitely funny!
'I wanted an easy life. What God has given me is life itself, life in abundance. Sometimes, it feels like too much life to handle!'
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2015
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 22, 2022
Lovely book. Helpful, informative and hilarious at times. Well worth a read.
Wrote this for my discernment process:
The book I read was I think it’s God Calling by Katy Magdalene Price. I wanted to read a book on ordination by a woman. Not because I felt that she would have anything particularly different to say (although she does) but because I live in a very male world and try to support women’s voices and wallets when I can.
It turned out to be a potted history of her journey from Atheism to Ordination. Initially, she kept a blog, and this was transformed into the book as she took up a role as a curate. She is now a Chaplain at Queen’s College Oxford having completed that term as a curate. It is a light, fun read that is not heavy on theology (although it has its moments) but that’s fine because I am getting enough of that at college!
The book is split into three sections. Up to the BAP, her time at college, and then her ordination and curacy. I found the first section most interesting as it is closest to where I am now.
In the first part, she starts with her shift from atheism to belief which is triggered by saying the offices, psalms, and readings for a year. She decides she does believe in God pretty much the day before attending a session on ordination which is a little weird but does also back up the idea that everybody’s vocation is different and not necessarily something one can organise or resist. She, herself, says with regards to her vocation, that “wanting to, had nothing to do with it.”
She also talks about getting a bit obsessed with the BAP process and it having a negative effect on her prayer life. She talks about how “the night of the soul – and the demons that inhabit it are not, after all, the old favourites of lust and greed and anger, but the white noise of life.” And how easy it is to mistake one's priorities in amongst the daily grind of life.
The second part is about her time in a tiny out-of-the-way college called Mirfield, which contains some lovely details such as ordering a cassock and being told her supplied measurements did not add up to a human being. She documents the joy of choir practice and looking at the mysteries of ancient hymn books with scribbled lines like “turn to page 50… written ON page 50” as well as having to ask, “which page 67 are we on?”. Later, she talks about clothing choices and says that “A fully-fledged surplice can make even the slimmest ordinand look like a small yurt.”
But she also talks about being actively deskilled, how no one was interested in what she’d done in the past, and the “very genuine” risk of losing one’s faith amid it all. She talks about terms such as formation and about the intensity of close-knit community life as well as the benefits of travelling overseas (she goes to Romania).
Finally, in the third part, she talks us through getting a curacy and ordination which all seems terrifyingly complicated – one more than the other, and not the way round you would think.
In between the humour and the useful information points, she does make many serious points and she does make it personal rather than abstract theory which is particularly helpful.
One of the big differences between this and other, "how I achieved my career" books, was of course the presence of God who ran through the book either explicitly or implicitly. At one point she says “the truth that doesn’t get talked about much in the “real world” even in churches is the glory of God, the kingship of Christ and the victory of the cross.” And I thought a bit about how many other books I’d read that could have done with a line like that just to bring it all back to the main point.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable read and worth looking at if you have the chance.
Wrote this for my discernment process:
The book I read was I think it’s God Calling by Katy Magdalene Price. I wanted to read a book on ordination by a woman. Not because I felt that she would have anything particularly different to say (although she does) but because I live in a very male world and try to support women’s voices and wallets when I can.
It turned out to be a potted history of her journey from Atheism to Ordination. Initially, she kept a blog, and this was transformed into the book as she took up a role as a curate. She is now a Chaplain at Queen’s College Oxford having completed that term as a curate. It is a light, fun read that is not heavy on theology (although it has its moments) but that’s fine because I am getting enough of that at college!
The book is split into three sections. Up to the BAP, her time at college, and then her ordination and curacy. I found the first section most interesting as it is closest to where I am now.
In the first part, she starts with her shift from atheism to belief which is triggered by saying the offices, psalms, and readings for a year. She decides she does believe in God pretty much the day before attending a session on ordination which is a little weird but does also back up the idea that everybody’s vocation is different and not necessarily something one can organise or resist. She, herself, says with regards to her vocation, that “wanting to, had nothing to do with it.”
She also talks about getting a bit obsessed with the BAP process and it having a negative effect on her prayer life. She talks about how “the night of the soul – and the demons that inhabit it are not, after all, the old favourites of lust and greed and anger, but the white noise of life.” And how easy it is to mistake one's priorities in amongst the daily grind of life.
The second part is about her time in a tiny out-of-the-way college called Mirfield, which contains some lovely details such as ordering a cassock and being told her supplied measurements did not add up to a human being. She documents the joy of choir practice and looking at the mysteries of ancient hymn books with scribbled lines like “turn to page 50… written ON page 50” as well as having to ask, “which page 67 are we on?”. Later, she talks about clothing choices and says that “A fully-fledged surplice can make even the slimmest ordinand look like a small yurt.”
But she also talks about being actively deskilled, how no one was interested in what she’d done in the past, and the “very genuine” risk of losing one’s faith amid it all. She talks about terms such as formation and about the intensity of close-knit community life as well as the benefits of travelling overseas (she goes to Romania).
Finally, in the third part, she talks us through getting a curacy and ordination which all seems terrifyingly complicated – one more than the other, and not the way round you would think.
In between the humour and the useful information points, she does make many serious points and she does make it personal rather than abstract theory which is particularly helpful.
One of the big differences between this and other, "how I achieved my career" books, was of course the presence of God who ran through the book either explicitly or implicitly. At one point she says “the truth that doesn’t get talked about much in the “real world” even in churches is the glory of God, the kingship of Christ and the victory of the cross.” And I thought a bit about how many other books I’d read that could have done with a line like that just to bring it all back to the main point.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable read and worth looking at if you have the chance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2022
Wonderful book for any woman considering ordained ministry. I enjoyed reading Katy’s ministerial journey. The journal is easy to read and you get a clear picture of the process into ordained ministry.
February 20, 2015
Ever wondered about the calling of others to ordination?. But what if the calling was felt by someone who considered herself to be an atheist - how does that fit ?
That's what happened to 'cradle atheist' Katy Magdalene Price, as a niggling, 'wouldn't-go-away' feeling was only resolved when she considered that faith and prayer merited an open exploration, and set her on a road to ordination. If she was being called, then there must be a God; if there isn't, then she was going crazy. Either way, it needed to be sorted!
Coming to faith with no history or baggage has allowed KMP to see church life unclouded by preconceived ideas. Her insights shed light on what is and isn't important, and her use of humour helps us all to take a sideways view cutting through church-speak, jargon, the expectations of others, to say nothing of the complexities of ordination training in the Church of England. Katy's book is drawn from a blog she wrote as the process unfolded, and provides humorous insight into selection for, and ordination training, as well as an honest account of her journey from atheist to Christian belief. Katy's insights will be valuable for all - not just those considering ordination, but if you are seeing a dog collar looming, this is the book to read if you want an insider's view that admittedly won't be your 'turn-to' volume on theology but ranks highly on common sense, humour and the sort of advice that you might really need!
That's what happened to 'cradle atheist' Katy Magdalene Price, as a niggling, 'wouldn't-go-away' feeling was only resolved when she considered that faith and prayer merited an open exploration, and set her on a road to ordination. If she was being called, then there must be a God; if there isn't, then she was going crazy. Either way, it needed to be sorted!
Coming to faith with no history or baggage has allowed KMP to see church life unclouded by preconceived ideas. Her insights shed light on what is and isn't important, and her use of humour helps us all to take a sideways view cutting through church-speak, jargon, the expectations of others, to say nothing of the complexities of ordination training in the Church of England. Katy's book is drawn from a blog she wrote as the process unfolded, and provides humorous insight into selection for, and ordination training, as well as an honest account of her journey from atheist to Christian belief. Katy's insights will be valuable for all - not just those considering ordination, but if you are seeing a dog collar looming, this is the book to read if you want an insider's view that admittedly won't be your 'turn-to' volume on theology but ranks highly on common sense, humour and the sort of advice that you might really need!
February 17, 2015
Absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. I guess it is the honesty that strikes you first then the humour. She was an atheist and yet she felt some sort of call to the priesthood. She didn't want it, didn't understand it but it was there and seemingly other people could see it and it wouldn't go away.
There are some great one liners in the book as she begins to explore faith and at the same time ridicule her own absurd situation. A crisis of faith point is reached and she accepts the call is real and off she goes to try and understand the somewhat bizarre world of the Church of England's selection and training process.
The journey while often very amusing, has a number of very real and very deep challenges along the way. This is a man's world and a woman's journey is far from straight forward.
I found it a very addictive read.
There are some great one liners in the book as she begins to explore faith and at the same time ridicule her own absurd situation. A crisis of faith point is reached and she accepts the call is real and off she goes to try and understand the somewhat bizarre world of the Church of England's selection and training process.
The journey while often very amusing, has a number of very real and very deep challenges along the way. This is a man's world and a woman's journey is far from straight forward.
I found it a very addictive read.
February 21, 2015
The author was in her 20s, happily married and an atheist when she felt called to become a priest. To her, it was on a par to becoming an astronaut! She became a Christian, joined a church and discovered that the Church of England moves in mysterious ways. She found this even more so when she started the process of getting accepted for ordination.
This autobiographical account is often hilarious, sometimes poignant, always honest. A must-read for anyone thinking of getting ordained (especially in the Church of England) but well worth reading for anyone who's part of the church. Oh, and the book reads like a novel. I couldn't put it down as I wanted to know what happens next.
This autobiographical account is often hilarious, sometimes poignant, always honest. A must-read for anyone thinking of getting ordained (especially in the Church of England) but well worth reading for anyone who's part of the church. Oh, and the book reads like a novel. I couldn't put it down as I wanted to know what happens next.
August 10, 2019
For anyone thinking about going into the ministry I would recommend reading this book. It talks about the journey from the first calling through to every stage and ordination. A great and interesting read
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews