Personal History and Reflections (PHR)
This questionnaire provides you with a structured process for self-reflection as you continue to discern God’s call in your life. The questions cover a wide range of topics. The prayerful time you spend answering them will help you in discernment, and prepare you for your psychological and marital evaluations, interviews with the Committee on Priesthood or the Committee on the Diaconate, and the Bishop.
Please approach this questionnaire as an opportunity for discernment about how God is calling you to serve. Be honest with yourself in approaching these sometimes probing and often challenging questions. Give yourself the time needed to reflect.
Time commitment: Completing this questionnaire requires a significant commitment of time and energy. How long it takes you to write the PHR depends on the time they can devote to it, but most working adults find it takes a few months to write.
Format: Type your answers directly after each question, rather than work all of the answers into a personal essay.
Submitting: When you have completed the work and your committee contact has reviewed at least one draft, you may submit it with his/her permission electronically, but this page must bear a handwritten signature. All other pieces of your postulancy application can be submitted directly to Vicky Bickel, assistant for transition ministry.
Length: There’s no prescribed length for any answer, but this document should not exceed 25 pages single spaced, nor should your answers be perfunctory. Aspirants should direct questions about the content and length to their committee contact.
Pledge: I understand that this document will be reviewed by those responsible for the diocesan discernment and formation process. By submitting this document to the Office of the Canon to the Ordinary, Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, I give my consent to such distribution and review. I also attest that a draft of this document has been reviewed by my contact to the Committee on the Diaconate or the Committee on Priesthood and he/she approved the document for submission.
Printed Name:
Signature: ______
You may submit this document electronically but a handwritten signature is required.
Date:
Part I: Personal History
General Information
Name:
Address:
Telephone numbers:
Email address:
Date and place of birth:
Church Affiliation
Current congregation in the Diocese of Virginia:
How long have you been a member of this congregation?
Name of Rector, Vicar or Priest-in-Charge:
Date and place of Baptism (please include name and denomination of church and location):
Date and place of Confirmation (please include name and denomination of church and location):
Or date and place of Reception into the Episcopal Church (please include name and location of church):
Education
College/university (name, location):
Degree received and graduation date:
Graduate school/professional school (name, location):
Degree received and graduation date:
Does your transcript reflect your current capacity for learning?
Other educational experiences:
Principal extracurricular activities:
Awards and other forms of recognition:
Other aspects of your academic career that you would like to share, if any:
Work History
Current employer:
A brief account of your work history:
· Describe (a) type of work; (b) time in each position; (c) reasons for change of jobs; (d) type of work enjoyed most and least; (e) list awards and other forms of recognition.
Military experience:
Other aspects of your work history that you would like to share, if any:
Family
Spouse
Full name of spouse, partner, or fiancé if applicable:
Date and place of spouse’s birth:
Date and place of spouse’s Baptism, if applicable (include name and denomination of church and location):
Date and place of spouse’s Confirmation, if applicable (include name and denomination of church and location):
Or date and place of spouse’s Reception into the Episcopal Church, if applicable (include name and location of church):
If none of the above apply, what is spouse/partner/fiancé’s religious background?
Date and place of marriage:
Please describe your spouse/ partner/fiancé and your relationship with him or her:
Please describe the conversations between your spouse/partner/fiancé regarding your sense of call to ordained ministry:
What do you look forward to as a couple as you pursue ordination?
What are you hesitant about as a couple as you pursue ordination?
Previous Marriage
Have you been married previously?
If “Yes,” please provide details on the dissolution of the marriage and describe your current relationship with him or her:
Children
(If applicable)
Name, age, sex:
Please describe your relationship with each of your children:
Parents
Father’s name, age, occupation and religious affiliation:
Mother’s name, age, occupation and religious affiliation:
Parents’ marital status:
Please describe your relationships with your parents:
Please describe your parents’ responses to your desire to enter ordained ministry:
Siblings
(If applicable)
Name, age, sex:
Please describe your relationships with your siblings:
Describe your family:
What do you expect will be the impact on your family if you pursue ordination?
What do you expect you and, if applicable, your family’s geographic limitations are now and would be after ordination?
Financial Data
Salary: Spouse’s salary:
Benefits: Spouse’s benefits:
Total: Spouse’s total:
Other sources of income:
Current annual family earnings:
Please describe your debts, if any:
If you are asked to enroll in seminary or the Deacons’ School as part of your formation process, how much do you expect it to cost?
How did you determine this figure?
How will you finance it?
How will you support yourself and your family if you are ordained?
For those discerning a call to the priesthood, how will you support yourself and your family if opportunities are not full-time?
Other aspects of your financial history that readers would need to know:
Medical History
Please describe any medical and/or psychological issues that readers should be aware of:
Social and Recreational Activities/ Personal Accomplishments
What social and recreational outlets do you have, and why are they important to you?
What are your hobbies and interests?
Name three books that you have read recently, why you chose them, and their effect on you:
Please describe a personal accomplishment or activity that is significant to you outside of your church experience:
Part II: Reflections
Your Life of Faith
Please describe significant events and people that have shaped you as a person of faith:
How have you experienced God working in your life?
How do you perceive God at work in the Church and in the world today?
What is your experience with mission work and serving “the least of these?”
Your Life of Prayer, of the Prayer Book and Gospels
Please describe your current prayer life and spiritual disciplines:
Tell a story about how you use the Book of Common Prayer as well as scripture or other spiritual writing to lead others:
Tell a story about proclaiming the Gospel, either through writing, preaching or teaching:
· Note: This is not necessarily about “evangelizing,” but the way that you tell our story.
Stewardship
How do you give of your time, talent and money to the Church and to the world?
How have you led others to share their time, talents and money with the Church or other worthy causes?
How do you care for your spirit, mind and body?
When you are overworked or overstretched, how do you keep a balance between work that must be done and appropriate care for self?
Your Understanding of Ordained Ministry
How do you distinguish between the roles of deacons, priests and laity?
How and why do you believe you are suited to the priesthood or the diaconate as opposed to lay ministry?
What specific forms and aspects of ordained ministry are you most drawn to?
How might God use your gifts for ministry if you are not accepted into an ordination process?
Leadership
What are your special gifts for leadership?
How do you anticipate using your gifts in ordained ministry?
Tell a story about a time you managed change and/or conflict in a community:
Tell a story about a time when you made a mistake and took responsibility for it in the context of a community.
Where do you need further growth?
Servanthood
In what areas and roles of ministry have you been involved on a parish, diocesan, and/or community level?
What transformation, both in yourself and others, have you witnessed as a result of your ministry?
Sense of Call
Tell the story of your sense of call to ordained ministry, focusing on your recent intentional personal and communal discernment as well as the sense of call throughout your life.
Conclusion
As a spiritual leader, an ordained person has a great deal of power in individual people’s lives. How do you understand this power and how will you deal with it if ordained?
What is your vision of yourself as an ordained person?
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