Barbara Sigley

It is difficult to say when I discerned the call to preach. I have always talked too much. I feared I would go on and on and then shoot off at tangents, so I resisted. The trigger was a local preacher on vocations Sunday in 2014. “When God calls, He equips”- of course he does. He stood by me as a steward, both church and circuit. He helped when I started a weekly luncheon club, which is still going strong 10 years on.

I talked to my superintendent who encouraged me to go on note.

The day after the local preachers’ meeting agreed I could be accredited I drove to Bristol and sat on a bench in the New Rooms. I was overwhelmed and I didn’t dare venture into the pulpit.

My mentor is an experienced local preacher within my home church. Ten years on he is still there for me to bounce ideas off. Under his guidance the first service I led in 2014 was at a small local church where everyone knew me. It was well received, although I forgot to announce the hymn numbers. I managed to get my message across and didn’t over run!!!

In sermons I draw on things that have happened in my life - “God incidences” my friend, a Church of England lay reader, calls them.

I feel really blessed as a local preacher. I had no idea how relevant John Wesley’s commentary would still be. I never realised how much I would gain when sharing His love with congregations.