Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Licensing

If you were there, thanks for coming. If you did stuff towards it thanks for whatever you did. I almost enjoyed it in a kind of nerve-racking (what else can you rack apart from your nerves?), stapled-on-smile, don't-accidentally-sneeze-on-the-Bish sort of way.

So I thought you'd like to know what the license says:

WE PETER by Divine Permission Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells TO our beloved in Christ JAMES STEPHEN TILLEY Clerk Bachelor of Theology.

GREETING

WE do hereby grant you our Licence and authority to serve during our pleasure at a Stipend in accordance with the Diocesan scale for an incumbent as Assistant Curate (having the status) and title of Associate Vicar) of the Benefice of Nailsea Holy Trinity within our Diocese and Jurisdiction under the direction of the Reverend Kenneth John Boullier the Incumbent thereof and to perform all ecclesiastical duties belonging to that office with special responsibilities for the Trendlewood area AND ALSO Licence and Authority (so long as you are licensed to the said benefice) to minister in the Benefices of Nailsea Christ Church with Tickenham and Wraxhall with Failand within our Diocese and Jurisdiction to perform ecclesisatical duties in these benficies in co-operation with the Ministers in charge thereof

IN TESTIMONY whereof We have hereunto set our hand and caused our Episcopal Seal to be affixed this ninth day of October in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Six in the ninth year of our Consecration and of our translation the fifth

+Peter Bath & Wells

So there you have it (this is my words again now OK). Notwithstanding the deep suspicion engendered by anyone who insists upon talking in the first person plural and what Mr Parry would have called 'an alarming inconsistency in the use of the upper case' there are a number of questions I needed to help my mother with and they are these:

Clerk? It means cleric. I am a clerk in holy orders.
Assistant Curate? All parish clergy are assistant curates, not to be confused with training posts which are decribed, annoyingly, as curacies and the office holders as curates.
Why is it all so complex? It is a legal document and lawyers have to speak inaccesibly to continue to generate fee income. (This may not be the right answer.)
James? Not Mum's question (she knew) but you may not have done. First-born male Tilleys are all called James, which is confusing.

Confusion. Bit of a theme really.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I spent thirty seconds racking my brains to think of what else one can 'rack' and gave up, too difficult.

Sorry we couldn't be there last night and we hope it well.

Graham (not Thurlow)

Anonymous said...

I for one + the wife (that makes two) enjoyed last night Steve, welcome to you all...Couldn't stay after as I'd 'ad me tea before coming, but will at some time catch up with you in. Stan Carpenter (another brummie and reader at HT)

Anonymous said...

You will have to learn how to spell "Wraxall" properly or Revd. Rosey will be after you when you visit All Saints.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for not embarrasing me by bringing up the incident with my car where I blocked in a group of pilates sufferers.

Steve Tilley said...

Funny how you don't speak of racking your nerves or brain-racking, but well spotted Graham.

Wraxall resident - I can spell it, and so can the diocesan legal department, but clearly I can't type it.

Richard, why would I wish to embarrass you when you do such a fine job all by yourself?

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear it went well. Have a great time (and I knew you were called James). Must have had a thing about red engines in your family

Chris said...

I don't suppose there is anything against you blogging - but you better be careful it's "un-Christian" don't you know...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/10/god_blog/

David Keen said...

At my licensing last week the Archdeacon broke off in the middle of reading the license and apologised to everyone for the words. can relate to the confusion bit. At least you only have 3 places to spell, down here in Yeovil deanery I've got 30...