Episode 4 Vicar Academy

CHOIR: "The Lord Is My Shepherd"

The Church in Wales, a traditional institution of hymns,

prayers and communion.

Business has been good for millennia

but with ageing congregations, falling numbers,

and abandoned buildings,

the church is facing a serious religious receission.

So does the answer lie within these walls

at St Michael's College Cardiff?

A new generation of priests is being prepared for a life

that is as likely to include the prison cell as the pulpit.

And they're taking their message to the most unlikely places.

Still got to write my sermon for tomorrow.

But what will congregations make of the young upstarts?

She was very confident.

And what will their reactions the when they try to mash up the mass?

In the 21st century, the clergy have to get out there.

This is a fully working embalming theatre.

But will be new kids at the altar get their dog collars?

I talked about leaving. Yeah, itchy feet.

Tonight, Roz makes a final decision over her future at the college.

I don't think this is necessarily the wrong or the right thing

but it's a decision.

The third years finally get to try on their dog collars.

I can't get away with bad behaviour now in public.

And a few weeks into a new job, Alex learns the tricks of the trade...

This is our secret tap.

..but will it be a baptism of fire?

This is the rollercoaster ride of...

It's the end of the summer term at St Michael's College Cardiff,

and it's been a busy time.

From the daily routine of morning prayer,

to placements at hospitals and care homes,

and of course, the students' social calendar.

At times it's hard to fit it all in.

But these students are being prepared for one of the biggest challenges of their lives.

The Church in Wales is in the midst of great change.

A third of the clergy are about to retire,

a quarter of members have gone in a decade

and over 80 churches have recently closed.

But there are promising signs of change,

and at the college it's the bottom line that's been the saviour.

It's dramatically different now compared to where it was.

It was a good college before but it was a traditional college.

It only trained men and women for full-time ministry

and our turnover, just to give you one figure, was 440,000.

If I say we are now pushing 1.2 million, so we have trebled.

The students are sent to Cardiff from the different dioces

accross Wales, and the bishops that run these diocess keep a close eye

on the individuals who will one day be ministering on their patch.

When students are close to ordination,

it's the bishop who decides to which parishes they'll be sent

for an initial three years, to work with an experienced vicar.

Third year Steven Bunting is eagerly awaiting a letter

from his bishop that will map out the next three years of his life.

In his former life as a banker Steve was more interested in spreadsheets

and statements than letters from the clergy.

But now the single dad of three has more pressing thoughts on his mind.

He could be sent to anywhere in the diocess of Swansea and Brecon by the bishop,

creating chaos in his family life if he's not close to his kids.

Today is post day.

Yesterday was post day but unfortunately, not my post today.

Everybody else's post day across Wales.

Anybody waiting for post got their post yesterday, but not me,

so today is post day. The postman will be due soon,

hopefully with a letter from the Bishop.

Here he comes.

I can't see my letter, can't see my letter.

DOORBELL BUZZES

Good morning.

-Hopefully, you have got a letter for me.

-Hello. Something for everybody.

-Thank you.

-There you go. Thanks very much. Bye.

There it is. Letter's here, letter's here.

Right, I'm going to go to my room. See you later, Jones.

Let's open the letter.

Oh, it's great.

Yes.

The big relief for Steve is that he's being sent to a parish

in Swansea and will be close to his three children.

That's really good news. Really, really positive news. Oh, my gosh.

That's so weird. And it's so real now, as well.

Dear me, I might have to do this.

Alex Grace is also on tenterhooks to find out where she

and her two daughters are going to be moving soon.

The single mother has made many sacrifices to be at the college,

and she has no idea where in the diocese of St David's

she's going to have to set up home

an area that covers almost all of west Wales.

I'm just so... I can't believe it

because in there is the next three years of our lives and it just...

I just can't believe it. So, shall I open it?

Oh, gosh.

We're going to Tenby.

SHE LAUGHS

My girls are going to be so pleased.

I didn't want to sort of hope...

It's brilliant. It's really, really good.

We love Tenby. It's just such a great place.

We go there sometimes for our holidays.

Caldey Island is just across the water.

When we had a really tough time as a family,

we went there every two weeks to this island.

It's brilliant.

I'm so happy.

Whilst Alex digests the good news, first year Roz is coming to terms

with a different life-changing decision.

The rugby fanatic, former bouncer and life model has been agonising

throughout the year whether she should stay at the college.

It would just be so much easier to do something different.

For me, at the moment, rugby's kind of my staple, my reason to be here.

It gives me a purpose. College doesn't do that for me.

Now as the year comes to an end she's had to make a decision.

It was probably wisest for me

and the church if I withdrew from training at this point.

More kind of putting a pause on it rather than...stopping completely.

I don't think this is necessarily the wrong or the right thing

but it's a decision.

And I think it's just got to the point where, at Easter, I just...

..I wasn't where I was the year before, or the year before that,

and it just kind of became apparent in the conversations

that I should do something about it.

Roz has expressed some strongly held views throughout her time

at the college, but many of the students don't agree with.

I've got problems with things that don't show the most love

in situations so I'm pro-choice when it comes to abortion

and stuff like that.

I'm pro-homosexuality because there is no need to be

negative about it, so I'm also pro-gay marriage.

One of her main frustrations is not with any arguments she's had,

but a lack of debate over these dividing issues

that would have helped her move on.

I don't think an open conflict is a way ahead.

I think an open forum is necessary but then

I also think that you need to not focus on these ethical chit chats.

Although one student is leaving the course, work at the college goes on.

As the year draws to a close there are still some placements

and visits that will give the students

an insight into the different aspects of their ministry.

Today they're visiting one of Cardiff's longest established funeral directors

to understand some of the practicalities involved

with bereavement.

So when we meet a family, part of the funeral arrangements,

obviously, have to come down to the coffin that they want us to provide.

Coffins are very varied, as you can see in here,

and this is only a tiny selection of what we can source.

Environmental type coffins.

So this is the type of coffin that would be buried in a woodland cemetery

or the woodland section of a cemetery.

That's made from banana leaf

and we can also get that in water hyacinth as well.

The two down the end look very grand.

I would imagine they are probably for open casket use.

They certainly are.

The reason we have them is that Cardiff is a very big, multicultural area, we serve all different faiths,

and typically, if we helped a Chinese family,

they would have a casket.

As well as gaining an understanding of the latest developments

in coffins, the students also get an insight into the world of embalming.

This is a fully working embalming theatre.

You start the work in here when you are formally qualified,

otherwise they couldn't work in here.

We have a rigourous checking systems when they arrive first.

But what has Alex Grace,

who soon will be conducting funerals, got out of the visit?

There are a lot of myths about things

and it is good to get your own view of how things are done and what happens.

It enables us to answer questions about what goes on, cos obviously, when somebody dies,

there's such a lot of grief and pain and anxiety about, you know,

what's going to happen, and I just think the more we can do to explain

to people what's going to happen and help at that point, the better.

As well as one-day visits like this, the students have also been sent

on several placements throughout the year.

First year Rachel Simpson, the youngest student at the college, has been sent back to school.

-CHILDREN:

-Bore da, Mrs Baynham.

Bore da.

This morning, we are very lucky because Rachel is here,

and Rachel's going to help me with this story this morning.

"Let me tell you a story," said Jesus to the crowd one day.

This morning, Rachel's helping with the assembly at St Monica's,

a primary school run by the Church in Wales.

Youth is not the only stand out fact about Rachel.

Vicaring also runs in the family, as both her parents wear dog collars.

But on a visit to the college, her mother confesses that Rachel

was never encouraged to sign up to the course.

I'm really glad she's doing it, and I encourage her,

but I wouldn't have suggested it, because I think it's

the sort of thing you've got to be positive you want to do.

Up until the last few years, they've wanted people to have

a bit more experience before they went to college,

cos there are lots of people now who take early retirement and then train.

The age profile has shot up, so there is loads and loads of older people in ministry

and hardly any younger ones.

When I went through selection, they wouldn't have let anybody in at Rachel's age.

But fortunately, they've seen the error of their ways.

There will be a few more young people around, which is good.

At St Monica's, Rachel's getting an insight into how parental choices

can affect the way that faith is presented.

The benefit of this school is that

because it's a Church in Wales school, parents send their children

knowing that they're going to have a Christian input.

So the parents would rather they had some sort of faith input than nothing at all,

so you're quite free to do Christian message.

In a non-Church school,

you have to be a bit more sensitive to other religions, because

the parents aren't signing up for a Christian ethos to be taught to their children,

whereas here, they are by sending them to the school.

As well as helping out at assembly, Rachel is expected to roll up her sleeves in the classroom

and at the school sports day,

in order to get an understanding of the modern world of education.

I'd much rather be out here with these small children than stuck in college with a book.

It's much more interesting.

For one so young, a lifelong commitment to the Church is quite

a big step, but for Rachel, it was always going to be a leap of faith.

I think this is what I'm supposed to be doing. You can never tell.

I didn't exactly get an e-mail from God saying, "Go and be a vicar."

CHILDREN CHEERING

Back at the college, the academic year draws to a close with the end of year service.

It's a chance to say goodbye to the third years before they are formally ordained,

and to present them each with a stole, symbolising the burden of ministry,

and to mark a turning point in their lives.

Steve, may God who has been faithful in equipping you for your ministry

give you the grace to serve his people,

and may his blessing be with you always.

-May God bless you...

-ALL:

-..and keep you. Amen.

At the end of the service, the students are greeted by

their fellow students and lecturers for the very last time.

And for some, it's an emotional and overwhelming experience.

And as with all other major events at the college,

it's a chance to share a meal before saying goodbye.

Yeah, just have a laugh now, have our dinner and just hang out

before we say goodbye and people start leaving in their cars later.

Before they depart, there's one last presentation for another student

who'll be leaving St Michael's and not returning.

And while they all share their final meal together,

the third years' minds turn to their upcoming ordinations,

and setting up homes in new areas.

To be ordained, the students return to their home cathedrals

for special services that are led by the different bishops of Wales.

These popular events mark the point at which they are formally received into the ministry.

Alex Grace is being ordained at St David's Cathedral,

and the magnitude of the occasion has started to sink in.

I can't believe today has arrived,

because it has been so long in the pipeline.

But really excited, apprehensive, we all do parts within the service,

so mostly thinking about getting those right. Not messing up majorly.

At Brecon Cathedral, the ordination is a family affair for Steve,

but before the service can start, there's a legal ceremony where he

and his fellow students promise to accept the authority of the bishop. It's a point of no return.

Although the wording and the setting might seem slightly bizarre,

it's important that you mean what you are swearing,

and you understand the consequences of what you are swearing.

So if that hasn't frightened you, we'll crack on.

I, Steven Leo Bunting, bachelor of theology...

-ALL:

-..Do declare that I will pay true and canonical obedience

to the Lord Bishop of Swansea and Brecon and his successors in all things lawful and honest.

Because it's a legal institution, a lawful institution,

you've got to swear obedience at the start

in the presence of the chancellor and the registrar.

So, at the start, we swear to be a good deacon,

and at the end, you swear to be a good deacon

in that specific church, so, for me, in Oystermouth.

Both cathedrals are packed out for what is one of the happiest occasions in the Church calendar.

And the highlight of the service is a point when each bishop places his hands upon the trainees

that are entering the ministry,

reflecting Jesus' commissioning of his disciples,

and creating a chain of contact throughout the Church's history.

Send your Holy Spirit upon your servant Steven,

for the office and work of a deacon in your Church.

Send your Holy Spirit upon your servant Alex for the office and work of a deacon in your Church.

May they be faithful in service,

ready to teach and constant in prayer.

May they be bound in faith and rooted in love, and seek only your glory.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord who lives and reigns with you

-in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever...

-ALL: Amen.

And I'm sure that you would want to welcome all these newly ordained people

into the service of Christ.

During the post-ordination celebrations,

Steve's struggling to get used to the new uniform.

I wear a collar now, which was strange this morning putting it on.

I bought it a few weeks ago and tried it on once, but wearing it today is quite strange,

cos it's the universal symbol that somebody is a vicar.

I can't get away with bad behaviour now in public.

It's almost like a graduation present, really.

You know, there is a serious side to wearing it.

People know who you are now and you've got a responsibility.

You've got the reputation of yourself and the Church to withhold.

Hopefully, it'll be a good mission opportunity as well. People will see you in it and speak to you.

In St David's, it's another emotional landmark on Alex's journey,

yet she doesn't quite feel the finished article.

I'll never feel ready!

Yes, I'm keen to start, but I don't think I'll ever be ready for this.

I'll just have to trust God and get on with it.

Part of trusting in God is moving to a new community and setting up home,

and for Alex, that means Tenby.

Like all other newly ordained students, she'll be expected to start work immediately.

Alex will be taking part in services in five different churches of the area

under the guidance of an experienced vicar,

and doing everything from marriages to funerals and Sunday sermons.

With a term of at least three years to serve,

the post also comes with a house.

And Alex has enlisted the help of a removals company to get her and her two daughters set up.

Moving to Tenby is proving to be something of a homecoming.

We've loved living in Cardiff and I was really sad to leave,

but as we were coming down the motorway and then the dual carriageway,

I had this real sense of homecoming. I used to work near St Clears,

and when we passed there, I just felt really at home.

So that was really unexpected but lovely.

Even with the professionals at hand, everything doesn't quite go to plan.

It's home made, innit?

Yes, it is home made. My friend's son made for us.

So I'm a bit worried that it's glued.

Oh, he's glued it as well?

We might get it, yeah, we'll...

with the glue.

It's going in the kitchen and it won't go through the door,

and one of my friend's sons has made it

and he's done a sort of belts and braces job on it

and he's glued it and screwed it, so it won't come apart.

It'll be fine.

But with an experienced team involved,

there's always a new plan at hand.

-Yeah?

-OK.

As you're going in...

That's it.

They're totally brilliant.

When we moved into the last house, they got our sofa in

through the patio doors on the first floor balcony

because they just couldn't find any other way

but they're brilliant. They really are. I'm so pleased.

Steven Bunting is moving into a new home in the parish of Oystermouth.

He'll be working

in the Mumbles area of Swansea

in two different churches, as part of a team of clergy

and unlike Alex, he's taken a more leisurely approach to moving house,

with child labour playing a prominent role.

Ah!

STEVEN LAUGHS

This is why you pay for professional removals.

Put one hand on the handle and put one hand underneath.

-Can you carry that?

-Yeah!

Please don't drop my box.

There's a surprise!

Right, leave them, leave them.

'I'm trying to involve them, so it looks like they're moving as well.

'You know, it's all part of a family thing, it's not just Dad's house.'

Whilst the clergy are usually given a house that is owned by the parish

in which they can set up home,

Steve's family situation of sharing custody of his three children

has created a slightly different situation.

So normally, when you go into a parish, you get the curate's house

but in this parish, the curate's house was smaller

than what I would have needed with the three children,

so they managed to rent a house for me.

It was a real challenge, in all fairness, for the parish

to find accommodation that wasn't extremely expensive

because Mumbles is a really popular place,

house prices are really high and the rentals are really high

but we were lucky with this house

because the owner of the house is somebody who worships in the parish.

The first major test for newly ordained vicars

are the big services that people usually associate with the Church,

such as weddings and baptisms.

These offer the potential to ruin someone's big day

or offend an entire family unused to church traditions.

This is our secret tap.

Today, Alex has a series of babies to baptise

in St Mary's Church at the centre of Tenby

and it's a service that she's relishing.

'I've got two baptisms on this afternoon'

so that's really, really exciting.

I've spoken to one lot of parents, who are lovely,

and I'm looking forward to meeting them.

I haven't actually seen any of them before,

so it'll be nice to meet them and see the children.

Stand back!

For even the most experienced of vicars,

there's always a tense moment when water meets baby's head

and whether they have to battle on

with a screaming child in their hands.

Lola Scarlett...

..tuck your arm in.

I baptise you in the name of the Father...

..and of the Son...

and of the Holy Spirit.

LOLA CRIES

Oh, sweetheart!

LAUGHTER

Good girl, good girl.

LOLA CONTINUES CRYING

Lola Scarlett, the Christian Church welcomes you with great joy.

In its name, I claim you for our saviour Jesus Christ

and sign you with the sign of the cross,

that you may never be ashamed

to confess the faith of Christ

but valiantly fight against sin, the world and the Devil

and continue his faithful servant

to the end of your life.

The words of the service have a personal impact on Alex

and she has to try and keep her emotions in check.

Her hope is that she can convey a sense of the service's importance.

When it says, "In its name, I claim you for our saviour Jesus Christ,"

that bit, yeah, that gets me every time.

It's huge thing that, you know, that we're doing here.

I hope I never lose that sense, as well,

of just how huge this is, really.

In the Mumbles, Steve is preparing for another big event.

He's got a key role in a wedding ceremony

and it's a full house on a sunny day.

Guests are arriving.

I do love weddings.

I'm quite relaxed today.

We had a good rehearsal with them on Wednesday

and they're a really down-to-earth couple

who I think were really relaxed, and that helps, so yeah, I'll be fine.

ORGAN PLAYS "BRIDAL CHORUS"

Prynhawn da. Croeso cynnes.

A very warm welcome and good afternoon to you today,

as together we come to witness the marriage of Craig and Anna.

'Such a privilege to have such a front-seat view

'as two people come together.

'I'm more excited about getting to know the couple

'before they get married, helping them go through preparation

'and then enjoying the day with them

'rather than only meeting them a couple of days before.'

Gracious God, we pray for Craig and Anna

and give thanks that you have brought them together in marriage.

Lord, in your mercy...

-ALL:

-Hear our prayer.

In the midst of the celebrations,

does the stream of baptisms and weddings

for many who don't come to Sunday services

bring out any cynicism in the newly ordained?

I think there is that kind of,

you know, "Oh, they just use the church or whatever,"

but that's what we're here for,

we're here to mark these stages in people's life, you know,

and I think it's our duty to welcome them so much

that they want to come back, they see something here

that is attractive, and they want to have more of that

but you've just got to make sure that you make the most of the occasion

and try and make them feel so welcome that they'd want to come back.

A few weeks into their new roles,

Alex and Steve are becoming used to life on the front line.

Now that they've stepped out of the college

and are facing real-world challenges head on,

what do they make of a church that is starting to change?

Numbers are really low.

People aren't hearing the message

and whether we're not preaching it right or whatever it is,

we need to adapt.

The church has to change, whether...

People can cling onto it as much as they want,

the church has got to change,

it's got to be streamlined and fit for mission.

But we need change. It's got to happen. We're doing something...

Not that we're doing something wrong at the moment,

but that we need to do something right to spread the gospel,

and the church has got to change.

'So this needs to be a sensitive way of making the changes

'but without throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I think.'

And in 20 years' time, will the church still be there for them?

I hope I am the leader of a big, thriving church

that is reaching out and is changing people's lives.

You know, when I started the process, the church looked like one thing

and I think it is going to change

but we need the change, it's necessary, and I think the Bible,

it's very biblical that there's a time of pruning and cutting back

and there's a time for flourishing.

September 2012 -

the beginning of a new term at St Michael's College Cardiff,

and a new intake of students

are being prepared to face up to the challenges of a changing institution

but for the Church in Wales, the message remains the same.

The Lord be with you.

ALL: And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

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