The discernment process in this diocese is one of accompanied exploration. Together we attempt to see whether attending training for ordained ministry is really the best way forward.

To help with this we examine whether a person’s own sense of calling fits with what the church is looking for in its ordained ministers, as set out in the criteria at we all work to.

Conversation with the incumbent, Vocations Advisors and the Director of Ordinands are intended to help with this. There may written work to do, conversations with other clergy and possible placements to give experience of a different church and tradition.

There may be issues which surface which need attention from people with particular expertise. Everyone is expected to find a companion or spiritual director who will be there for them through the process, and help them work with the outcome, whatever it may be.

Each person who wants to be considered for sponsoring to a national conference will need to see a local panel of assessors who will give their observations to the DDO.

The decision to sponsor remains with the Bishop of Doncaster, who makes it on the advice of the DDO.

A young woman tentatively tells a friend that she is considering becoming a priest in the Church of England. What a waste! the friend exclaims. The young woman is disconcerted and rather flattered. She thinks of Albert Schweitzer.

She’s been evading the possibility of priesthood, but people keep asking her whether she's thought about it, and when at last she looks it in the eye, it seems somehow inevitable. So she pushes a few doors, testing the idea out on people who know her well. No-one laughs at her. She thinks she detects alarm in the eyes of one local vicar, but another is all enthusiasm.

She begins to discuss it with a Vocations Adviser and then the Director of Ordinands: people who will journey with her. They seem to honour what she brings, including the uncertainty.

In fact neither she nor they seem entirely clear what it might mean for her to be ordained. It seems that a church enduring hard times is in a state of flux: feeling, thinking and praying into a future that will see familiar ways transformed, new patterns of ministry emerging. Exciting times.

She begins to suspect there are clergy everywhere asking themselves: "What am I for?" and she senses how deep that question goes. Some months on, she is starting to feel a little disorientated.

But it is clearer that the process of becoming a vicar (or chaplain, or sector-minister, or non-stipendiary priest) is actually about choosing and being chosen. She is choosing to pursue ordination. She finds it hard to admit, but she has moments when she actually wants to be ordained, sensing that it may be fulfilling for her and of service to others.

And ultimately, of course, others will choose. At a national Conference selectors equipped with clear criteria and more information about her than anyone else has ever assembled will advise Yes or No.

They will ask about her own sense of calling, but will be just as interested in her spirituality, personality, relationships, leadership skills and quality of mind: how well she is suited for the work that needs to be done. Having considered all this, the community of faith chooses its clergy.

She finds that reassuring, despite the possibility of disappointment. She trusts God for her well-being, the God who speaks human. A ‘No’ may be the most gracious word ever spoken to her, she can see that. Then she would be free to explore her life's calling in other ways. A Yes will bring huge changes, but it will not absolve her of her first vocation: to be human in a Christ-like way - it might even make that more difficult.

So much for her to think through. There is no rush, the process may take very many months - or more. Time to learn and grow.

Within the process it is not just the diocese but the candidate who is expected to exercising their discernment. Her are some questions that may prove useful n this.

·Is there an activity you find especially fulfilling?

· What do you enjoy about it?

· What forms of ministry have you considered?

· What is it about ordination that attracts you?

· What gave you the idea of ordination?

· If someone suggested it, who?

· Did respect or admiration for a particular priest draw you to the idea?

· What are the particular activities that attract you?

· What parts of the work, as you see it, do you most want to do?

· Who are the people you most want to minister to?

· What will you offer them, and how?

· What gifts do you think are required for this work?

· What gifts do other people think you have?

· How have they communicated this to you?

· What will your Christian ministry be if you are not ordained?

· What would your reaction be if you are not recommended for training?