Job Description

[poliphilo]

The work of a priest- any priest in any religion- is to stand at the edge of the world and point. She is there to remind everybody else that there is an edge. She is a sign. And that's why she wears distinctive clothes and lives apart.

Anything else she does- social work, political work, anything that implicates her in the business of the world- is an add-on and a distraction.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think we're talking about much the same thing- but looking at it from different angles. If the gods want you for a hollow reed (I like that image) then surely it's because they want their music to be heard by mortals.

Either way we're talking about the priest/priestess as someone who acts as a conduit/bridge/connection between the worlds.

This stuff is diffcult to talk about. We have to use imagery- and it's never sharp enough- and one image excludes other images.

I take your point about costume. There'll always be exceptions to the "rule".

[oakmouse]

If the gods want you for a hollow reed (I like that image) then surely it's because they want their music to be heard by mortals.

Mostly not, actually. A lot of my work has to do with participating in and fostering the flows of certain energies. Another big bunch has to do with the realms of the ancestors, and although some of that definitely involves mortals they're not incarnate mortals.

(Thank you, BTW. I don't remember where I got the image but it resonates very powerfully for me.)

Either way we're talking about the priest/priestess as someone who acts as a conduit/bridge/connection between the worlds.

This stuff is diffcult to talk about. We have to use imagery- and it's never sharp enough- and one image excludes other images.

On both of these points I think we definitely agree. (And ironically, for me personally, the last sentence of your original post is absolutely true. I'm just not sure it's true for every priest/ess.) It's damnably difficult to talk about, not least because some of the process of being a bridge between worlds is really quite nonverbal.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We do what we do....

I left the Anglican priesthood because it was too much about being in the world and then I left the Wiccan priesthood because it was too much about being out of the world.

Then, for a good long while I was in denial.

But priesthood is for ever. You don't resign. It's something you're stuck with.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

"Thou art a priest forever"....Definitely!

[oakmouse]

"Thou art a priest forever, unto the order of Melchizadek." My ordination didn't include that line, but my consecration did. And yes, definitely, it isn't something you do --- it's something you are. It doesn't go away. It's just a question of how you're serving now.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

"Its just a question of how you're serving now".

And that's what this post is about, really. I no longer belong to any organisation or community, but I'm still a priest. So what does that mean exactly? What am I supposed to do?

[oakmouse]

Good question. What do *you* want to do? How do you, personally, define priesthood and service? I say that not to put you on the spot (it doesn't matter whether you tell me the answers) but because I've encountered many clergyfolk who didn't really settle comfortably into their priesthood until they worked that out and put it into practice. Do you *want* an organization or community? Do you want a congregation? Do you want to be a contemplative, and/or serve the divine directly in some fashion? There's no need, after all, to stick to the present Christian model of priestly function if it gives you hives or even if it merely fails to satisfy you; there are lots of choices to select from among, and some of them are very interesting indeed.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I walked away from priesthood twice. I thought that was the end of the story. But apparently it isn't. I don't know what happens next. Now that I've raised the issue, publicly, like this, my first instinct is to run and hide- like Jonah.

[oakmouse]

Running and hiding has its validity. You may need a quiet period to let this bubble and stew.