Update: Student Goodbyes & Commissioning Service

June 13, 2024

A little update on the end of the school year, Commissioning Day and next week's Summer School (and my summer schedule).

The past couple of weeks have been busy. The end of 7th week (i.e. June 8th) is when we say goodbye to our leavers. After a week full of prep classes for those going into ordained ministry, it's time for the Wycliffe Hall Commissioning Day service on the Saturday. This year we said goodbye to 35 students.

Where do our students go after Wycliffe?

Of our 35 leavers, over a third are going on to get ordained and serve in Church of England parishes. One of our Episcopalian students has just been ordained in the Diocese of Missouri and has returned to Oxford to begin his curacy (more on him here). The majority of students are going on to different things: mission and ministry in their home churches and countries (e.g. one student is actually headed to Houston!) as well as pursuing research degrees (e.g. one student is about to start a PhD at the University of Toronto).

What happens at a Commissioning Service?

The commissioning service takes place at a nearby Anglican church, St Andrew's. It's our way of praying for, blessing and saying goodbye ot the mix of students we have. We sang hymns, heard an inspiring sermon on how to bring the gospel into new places from former Wycliffe alum Bishop Saju Muthalaly, (Bishop of Loughborough). We broke bread together in the Euhcarist. Then each of the fellowship group tutors stood and shared which of their students are leaving and where they are going. (If you saw my recent FB pic - it was me on my way up to the lectern to share about where my students are going).

Towards the end of the service, all the leaving students stood and the Principal, Revd Dr Michael Lloyd, prayed for and blessed the students as they head out into various roles of responsibility and leadership in the church and the world. He prayed, among other things, that they might steward the responsibility with humble and gentle hearts and out of an attitude of servanthood modelled after our Lord.

And then it was time for the College BBQ and Ball!

Immediately following the service was a BBQ and garden party for students, staff and their guests. There was a bouncy castle (US: bouncy house) and a jazz band and lots of time to chat with different students, meet their families and say some goodbyes. For those not staying for the ball, anyway.

The evening was the annual college ball with a fairgound theme. I wasn't able to attend (I had a baptism to attend the next morning), but I understand everyone had a great evening to round out the year.

So what's left of the school year?!

Well, this past week the remaining students have been doing a special study week on Islam and Christianity with the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (they actually have a new Houston centre too, see here).

Not only that but this Sunday begins the Friends of Wycliffe Hall Summer School! I'm looking forward to preaching on Ezekiel 17 at the opening worship service on Sunday evening and connecting with those of my Houston friends who've been able to make it (sermon blog post to follow sometime next week...).

And for me?

After that I am going to be heading into a lot of teaching prep: on Daniel, the Prophets and two preaching courses. Please do keep me and all the staff and students at Wycliffe in your prayers!

******

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Why a Rock? A Sermon on Matthew 16:13-20

By Suse McBay • July 29, 2025

A sermon given at an all-age service at the wonderful church of St Wilfrid's, Calverley, on June 29th. The reading was Matthew 16:13-20: it was fun to work the film Labyrinth into a sermon on a very well-known text!

Commissioning Day Sermon (and first guest post)

By Suse McBay • June 18, 2025

Treasures in Jars of Clay by Revd Will Donaldson Good morning everyone and thank you so much, Michael, for asking me to preach on this wonderful occasion. It’s a real honour and privilege to do so! Some of you know that I was a tutor here for 6 years from 2007: it’s a joy to be back in my retirement on the chaplaincy team, alongside Jane and Bruce. What will be your abiding memory of Wycliffe Hall? It might b e lectures, whether at Wycliffe or in the Faculty, when your eyes were opened and your mind stretched to explore the heights and depths of academic theology It might be the Focus mornings or the Study Weeks, with their leaning towards practical preparation for ministry, underpinned by parish placements and missions It might be worship in chapel, when you experienced the presence of Christ in the singing, the preaching, the liturgy and the celebration of communion. It might be your fellowship group, where you got to know a group of fellow students really well and journeyed with them through the training process, and they were there for you when you needed support It might be the enjoyment of belonging to the wider community – the chats over coffee in the Common room, or the discussions over lunch, or the theological boxing matches in Fight Club (where no punches were pulled!), or the more refined formal occasions like Matriculation and formal halls, or our community notices on Tuesdays with the drum rolls and the gold awards and – not to forget - the Principal’s jokes (all under the pretext of needing to link things up!), or maybe your abiding memory will be the Hall Photo last month that ploughed on despite thunder, lightning and torrential rain! How hilarious was that! An d you could spot the people whom Jesus would have called ‘oh ye of little faith’ – they had brought their umbrellas! There’s one other memory that I hope you will take with you into your future ministries: it’s our text for this morning: 2 Cor. 4.7. - ‘ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us’ . Let me explain why I would love you to embed this in your heart as we send you out… 1. We have been entrusted with Treasure