Meet Revd Geoff Hamilton
Geoff Hamilton has been ordained deacon to serve an internship in Seagoe Parish, Portadown:
During these past two years I have valued the opportunity to study with a great group of ordinands. One of the privileges has been listening to people share their story of how God has called them into ordained ministry. I have wrestled with the idea of ordination for nearly thirty years!
At 16 I left school and attended Craigavon Training Centre before serving a joinery apprenticeship with a local building contractor in my hometown of Lurgan. Aged 25 I moved to Montevideo as a Mission Partner with the South American Mission Society (SAMS) and worked with the Anglican church within a community development initiative. When I returned home I worked for SAMS throughout Ireland as their Development Officer. I am married to Jill who works for Connor diocese as a Children’s Worker.
As I enter my third year with the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, there is a real sense that I am embarking on a second apprenticeship as I prepare to serve within Seagoe Parish as a deacon–intern. I am really looking forward to participating in everyday parish ministry and learning on the job.
John 1:14 declares that; ‘The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, full of grace and truth.’ I find the words ‘full of grace and truth’ profoundly challenging because they remind me that to be a follower of Christ means that Christians are all called to carry His mark. The mark isn’t a bracelet, badge or necklace, it is a life lived with ‘grace and truth’. When ‘grace and truth’ are worked out in the daily grind an opportunity is created for us to move beyond lives of accumulation, competition and self–centredness and participate in God’s agenda.
Finally, I am a Man City supporter, so let the Pep Guardiola revolution begin!