On what should’ve been an ordinary day, a surprising question set off a chain of events which eventually led John Rollings on an unforeseen journey to faith and to ordination. John, who is to be ordained, in Wells Cathedral on 25 September, will serve his curacy at St Mary’s in Chard and the Cloverleaf benefice alongside his work as an Honorary Chaplain at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.
John shares his story with us.
“I started a job as a parish handyman in Colyton, Devon, 12 years ago and as a newcomer to the town I was asked if the parish magazine could write a feature about me. I happily agreed but wasn’t expecting the final question. After asking me if I believed in God, I was then asked ‘What about Jesus’? I responded rather flippantly with, ‘he seemed like a good bloke.’ But that question wouldn’t leave me, it kept coming back to me over a good two or three weeks.
“I couldn’t get it out of my head. So, I came home and brushed off the Bible and started reading. I needed to find out really what was going on. I read Matthew, Mark and Luke which all seemed very similar and then when I came to John, it struck me as completely different. As I was reading through this, I came to 14:6, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’, and that really resonated with me. I thought, ‘blimey this is who he is’.
“Then for about a year or so and I used to pop into the church on my own after work and also pray at home. I relied on Matthew telling me that I only needed to go into a quiet room to pray and so I thought that’s great I don’t have to go to church services I can do this by myself.”
Eventually John found the courage to go into the church and began going to morning prayer each day before work. Later he started to attend services in his hometown of Chard, became a member of St Mary’s and started getting more involved in church life. He also became an honorary chaplain at Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton and as his faith grew, he began to feel that there was more he needed to do.
“I initially spoke to my vicar about ordination, and she responded with, ‘It’s about time, I’ve been waiting ages for you to come and see me.’ My journey to ordination hasn’t always been smooth but whenever I’ve doubted my calling something always seemed to happen to put me back on track”.
“When I look back, I can see there was a pattern of God working in my life, even though I didn’t know it. It was a clear pattern. This is now the right time for me. I’m in a position to dedicate myself to my calling and do all the things that God is guiding me to.”