Michael Parrott 'My Job' Talk

Michael Parrott's 'Job Talk'

Michael was born in Stockport in 1948 and grew up in a working class family in post war Britain with a spiritual upbringing in a back street evangelical mission, where faith it was the norm to attend Sunday school youth club and church.

He left school at 16 and started work as an office clerk in the purchasing department of an Oil Company, which was a valuable experience for 8 years.

He then felt a sense of call to the ministry and was accepted at Hartley Victoria College in 1972  and Manchester University, where he graduated in 1975 and started work as a Minister in 1976.  

 He thought that his work was not a job but a 'Calling ' and there are real differences as Barbara Streisand sang in Funny Girl ' People who need people are the luckiest people in the world ' There is nothing as fascinating, frustrating and fantastic as people. They are my raw material, a plumber works with pipes and boilers and an electrician with wires and fuse boxes, whilst he worked with people.

It is a peculiar job; he is not a doctor, social worker. teacher, nurse, politician, diplomat, fund raiser, architect, banker, accountant administrator, musician, planner and yet ministry touches on all of those skills and many others besides.

Michael was ordained in 1978 to a ministry of Word Sacrament and Pastoral Care. Yet a great chunk of his work has been around money, property and administration. During his time as a minister, he served the people of Newcastle under Lyme, Warrington, Congleton, Cheadle Staffs and finally Whitchurch.

He became a Superintendent in1990 and later became Deputy Chair of the Chester and Stoke on Trent District in 2004.                                                                                                       

The public face of a ministry is carrying out Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals and leading worship Sunday by Sunday in a local church. This is routine bread and butter work for the minister, but not for those who are the recipients; these are once in a life time moments that they will remember for ever. So it is essential to get it right.

The weekly privilege of leading worship, preaching and breaking bread, linking people with God was a very poor channel of God 's grace, but still trying to do it.

Aside from his pastoral work, Michael has been a chaplain in Strangeways Prison and worked in Hospitals in Warrington and Cheadle, the Methodist Central Hall in Manchester and Danesford Approved School in Congleton and has been a Mayors Chaplain, with the involvement of civil duties.

 President Ashley in proposing a vote of thanks to Michael for an enlightening talk, mentioned his childhood involvement with Methodism having been brought in the Biddulph.area.