14 candidates were ordained overthe weekend to serve in parishes across the Diocese, with more deacons beingordained than there has been for many years.
12 candidates were ordained Deaconin the Cathedral on Saturday and are entering their first year of training as acurate. A further two candidates have completed their first year and wereordained Priest in their parishes on Sunday; they are now able to preside atthe Holy Communion.
The Bishop of Worcesterpresided at the ordination of Deacons while the Bishop of Dudley ordained thetwo Priests. Archdeacon Rick Simpson, Archdeacon of Auckland in the Diocese ofDurham preached at the service in the Cathedral having led the pre-ordinationretreat for candidates.
Ordained Deacon:
AdamHadley, who will serve at St Thomas in Stourbridge
- Andy Smith, who will serve at All Saints inWorcester
- ChrisSheehan, who will serve in the Arch Benefice, Evesham (Church Lench with RousLench & Abbots Morton & Harvington)
- Jen Denniston, who will serve in the WestWorcestershire Rural Team
- Julia Quinn, who will serve in Stourport onSevern and Wilden
- Peter Myres, who will serve in the Chase Team,Malvern (St Andrews & All Saints, Malvern Wells & Wyche)
- Rich Hackett, who will serve at Holy Trinity,Old Hill
- Robin Parry, who will serve in the WorcesterSouth East Team
- TimothyHupfield, who will serve in Badsey with Aldington & Offenham &Bretforton
- SueAdeney, who will serve in Upton-on-Severn, Ripple, Earls Croome w Hill Croome& Strensham as well as Hanley Castle, Hanley Swan & Welland
- JanetHatton, who will serve at St John, Bromsgrove
- JoWilliamson, who will serve in Broadway, Evesham
See photos from the ordination of Deacons
Ordained Priest:
Becky Elliott serving in the WestWorcestershire Rural Team
- Paula Honniball serving at St John the Baptist, Claines & St. Georges Worcester
See photos from Becky Elliott's ordination
See photos from Paula Honniball's ordination
Bishop John said: It is always a great privilege to beable to ordain people who have discovered the love of God in their lives andhave decided to devote themselves to bringing that love to others. Not only theChurch but all society will be hugely enriched as a result.
Listen to Archdeacon Rick's sermon at Becky's ordination;
Quotes and backgroundinformation from the candidates:
Deacons
Adam Hadley (St Thomasin Stourbridge)
Adamwas born and brought up in the Black Country. He studied for a degree inhistory and a Masters in Human Rights before spending a decade working in localauthorities in the Midlands. Before training for ordination he was working ingovernance for a charity in Oldbury. He said:
Myfamily werent churchgoers, but I wanted to go to Sunday school at age 4because my cousins went! I continued attending throughout university and becamea Lay Minister after I left. When I moved to Halesowen, I started havingconversations about training for ordained ministry.
Godloves everyone, regardless of who and what they are and I really want to sharethat radical love with people! Until now, Ive been combining my role as a LayMinister with a full time job, so Im looking forward to ministry being mywhole life and being able to be with communities in their joys and sorrows.Building relationships with people is critical to the gospel and its importantto me to be rooted in a community. Im also hoping to dispel the myth thatvicars arent normal people and sit around being priestly all the time. Thatsdefinitely not me and I want to be the person that God created me to be!
Andy Smith (All Saintsin Worcester)
Andygrew up just outside of Cheltenham. His Mum became a Christian when he wasabout 12, but he remained sceptical of faith. He studied Mechanical Engineeringat Warwick University where he met his wife Debbie, who was a Christian. In2006, Andy attended an Alpha course where he gave his life to Jesus.After leaving university, Andy worked inretail for a few years before his vicar asked him to run the Christians AgainstPoverty centre at the church. He combined this with being youth worker. Andysaid:
Thisrole was the beginning of my ministry as well as starting to think aboutdedicating my life to the Lord full-time. However, I ignored the feeling that Ineeded to do something more until 2014 when the sense of Gods call returned tome and I felt suddenly unsettled. I started the discernment process and decidedthat I needed to trust God. Id just keep pushing the doors and if they keptopening, Id go through! My family and I moved to Bristol in 2016 to starttraining and now were looking forward to coming to Worcester.
Havingworked as a debt counsellor in a very poor community in Leamington, I reallyfeel a call to work with the most broken in our community who are seeking help.I love talking about Jesus and I think being a vicar will open up so manyevangelistic conversations. Itll be great to meet people at cross-roads intheir lives and be invited into sacred places and moments where I can supportand love them. Im looking forward to being part of a larger church andlearning as much as I can from its vicar, Rich Johnson.
Chris Sheehan (ArchBenefice, Evesham)
Chrisis married to Carol and they have lived in Evesham since 2002. He was broughtup in Worcester where his Mum still lives. Chris became a Christian at aCrusaders summer camp in his teens, but it wasnt until he became a StreetPastor that he began taking his vocation seriously.He will combine his ministry with his careeroffering coaching for technology businesses who are launching new innovationsin healthcare. He said:
Ivealways felt called to focus my ministry outside the body of the Church,supporting those in the marginal, difficult places who often dont have avoice. Jesus charge to feed my sheep has always resonated with me. Icompleted a pioneer ministry diploma at Church Mission Society with time alsoat Ripon College, Cuddesdon and will be ordained as a permanent deacon working withpeople in the local community.
Mypaid role is about trying to get business owners to be the best they can be andrealising their potential without telling them what to do. It involveslistening and asking questions sensitively, skills which I know are going to bevery useful as a minister. Im not starting with an agenda, but am lookingforward to seeing where God is already at work in the benefice and joining in,trying to understand where Christ is and where I can make a difference.
Jen Dennison (WestWorcestershire Rural Team)
Jenis nearly 60 and is originally from Rural Aberdeenshire. Most recently she hasbeen teaching children with additional needs at a school in London, but movedto Worcestershire when her husband bought a farm in the county his family haslived in the area for a number of generations. Jen began training as a layminister, but put her training on hold in the early days of owning the farm.She said:
Whenthe time felt right, I began exploring my vocation again and before long I wasgoing to a selection panel for ordained ministry! It feels like the right thingto be doing and what God is calling me to. I have a real heart for reachingthose people who struggle to make it to church on a Sunday morning and am lookingforward to getting out and meeting people where they live and work, getting toknow the local farmers and local families and understanding how we might offerchurch in a different way.
Ihave served as a churchwarden in a busy London church and I hope that I can usesome of that experience in rural Worcestershire. I know itll be verydifferent, with more miles to cover in the beautiful countryside, but Ive gotlots to share as well as lots to learn! I cant wait to get going in my newrole and make an impact, bringing the gospel and Gods love to local people.
Julia Quinn (Stourporton Severn and Wilden)
Juliahas been a Christian since she was small and remembers singing the first verseof Away in a Manger in church aged six! She was confirmed as a teenager and herfaith really developed while studying science at university. It was when sheand her husband Andrew moved to Areley Kings and began attending StBartholomews Church that she felt that God was calling her to do something.She said:
Aftera conversation with my vicar, I completed the Bishops Certificate Course andthen six years ago trained as a Lay Minister. I absolutely loved the role andfor a long time felt Id found my vocation and would struggle to do more.However, slowly, my list of excuses for not doing anything else were crossedoff God gave me the strength to do things I never thought Id be able to.That prompted more conversations about training for ordination a journey Inever expected to be on!
Illbe a part-time assistant minister, serving in both rural and urban communitieswhere it wouldnt be possible to have a second ordained person.Im very grateful to both Areley Kings andAstley parishes who have been hugely supportive along the way and Im lookingforward to getting to know a new community and going wherever God leads me.
Peter Myres (ChaseTeam, Malvern)
Peter,50, served for 16 years in the Royal Navy after leaving school, followed byfive years organising expeditions for an overseas charity before running theadministration of a large London Church. He has been training for ordination inBristol and will move to Malvern with his wife and four children. He said:
Ireally enjoyed working for my church, but others started to ask whether Idconsidered being ordained! I didnt go to university so was apprehensive aboutgoing back to studying, but everyone at the college was great at building myconfidence. I enjoyed the training, although it was difficult being away frommy family who remained in London. Itll be a big change for us all moving toMalvern.
Idefinitely feel like the Lord has been drawing me to a more community or parishbased ministry. Malvern will be very different to London, but Im lookingforward to seeing what ministry looks like in a new context and being part ofthe church family there. People feel very isolated in todays family and Ibelieve that church can really help to build a sense of belonging where peopleare known. I hope to help show how peoples lives can be turned around byfaith.
Rich Hackett (HolyTrinity, Old Hill)
Richwas born and bred in Bromsgrove and until 12 years ago didnt go to church. Afterexperiencing a moment of conversion where he felt God speaking to him, hestarted to explore faith and became a Christian after getting married. Prior totraining for ordination he worked in the IT department of a marketing company. Hesaid:
Myvicar asked whether I would consider being ordained and I began to explore thepossibility. On the weekend when Id planned to go away and pray about it, acongregation member came up and asked the same question!
Imhoping to be able to bring some of the lessons Ive learnt in business intoparish life. I think its important for churches to understand and respond tohow people are consuming information today and the fact theyre used to awell-packaged product. We need to represent Jesus as well as we can. I want tocome alongside people and journey with them. Todays society is all about notbeing good enough and is often very fragmented, but faith and the church canoffer a different narrative. In particular, I really feel called to minister tothose who are most disaffected in our society and are on the fringes. I hope myministry will be one of mission and evangelism meeting people where theyare.
Robin Parry (WorcesterSouth East Team)
Robinmoved to Worcester after marrying his wife in 1991 and until 2001 taughtPhilosophy and Religious Studies at Worcester Sixth Form College.Alongside teaching he studied for an MA andthen a PhD in Old Testament Studies and in 2011 moved into theologicalpublishing, where he will continue working after ordination. Robin and his wifehave two grown up daughters and a cat!He said:
Iam from a non-conformist/ free church background, but a number of smallincidents and questions from my studies meant my views on church began tochange as I understood more about liturgy. In the past people mentioned theidea of me being ordained, but I never thought I wanted to be a priest so dismissedit for a long time before beginning to explore the idea seriously.
Ihave worked in theology for a long time and I think God wants me to use thatbackground. I see my ministry as drawing on a range of different traditions andbringing them together. Im looking forward to seeing how the church can engagemissionally with its parish, firstly getting a feel for the people in thechurch and community and then exploring different opportunities. Throughout mytraining the Methodist Covenant prayer has been very important to me remembering its OK to explore things, even if they dont work out. Its notabout being a success of failure, but about discerning what God wants for meand for the Church.
Timothy Hupfield (Badseywith Aldington & Offenham & Bretforton)
Timothywasnt a churchgoer growing up, his only contact with the church was throughScouts. He studied science at university and it wasnt until he got engaged andhis wife wanted a church wedding that he started going to church to find outwhat it all meant. The people he met had a massive impact on Timothy and he wasbaptised and married within a couple of weeks. It was at his baptism thatTimothy first got the sense that he might be being called to ministry. He said:
Atthe start I just assumed I was misinterpreting the call and tried serving thechurch as a youth worker, on the PCC and as a verger. I also trained to be ateacher and then when my wife fell pregnant while she was training forordination, I became a full time stay at home Dad. My wife became a deacon in2011 and then a priest in the Diocese of Lincoln the following year. It waswhen we moved the Lincoln that everything started coming together and afterspeaking to a retired priest who helped me work through my worries, I startedtraining for ministry at Westcott House in Cambridge.
Imlooking forward to coming to Badsey and am excited about getting to know peopleand being part of the community there. To work alongside people, their livesand their faith is a privilege. Im going with a very open mind to explore whatshape ordained ministry will take for me. Im expecting my curacy to tell me anawful lot about where God is calling me, although Ive already been surprised alot of times!
Sue Adeney (Upton-on-Severn,Ripple, Earls Croome w Hill Croome & Strensham, Hanley Castle, Hanley Swan& Welland)
Sueexplored ordination 30 years ago, but she was newly married and just starting afamily so the timing wasnt right. She has served in her local church and for18 years was the Cathedral Education Officer, retiring in 2016. Sue willcontinue to serve in the benefice in which she lives after being ordained. Shesaid:
Theresdefinitely a feeling that God will get you in the end about my ordination andalthough Im excited, theres also a part of me that is absolutely terrified!In some ways, not a lot will change Ill still be serving my local communityas Ive done for many years. However, in other ways, itll be a total change!Ill be more overtly representing God in the villages and Im hoping that beingordained will help open new doors. Im particularly looking forward to beinginvolved in life events and getting into schools.
Ivealways been a community person and am involved in a lot of different things,which I hope will be an asset in my new role. I intend to be a minister for thecommunity, not just the church. I loved my training in Birmingham. QueensCollege have been fantastic in supporting my vocation and now Im lookingforward to getting started and seeing where God will call me next.
Janet Hatton (St John,Bromsgrove)
Janetgrew up in Bromsgrove and has lived there for most of her life, now with herhusband Cliff and their two sons, Andrew and Michael. From a very early age Janetknew that she believed in God, but didnt have the chance to explore my faithas she grew up. When she was 42, Janet experienced a strong sense of Godcalling her to go to church and began attending St Johns. She becameincreasingly involved with the life and ministry of the church taking on roles includingsides person, helping with Sunday school, enrolling member of the MothersUnion and assistant churchwarden before helping to lead some services. It wasafter completing an Authorised Lay Ministry course as a Worship Leader that shefelt God was calling her to ordained ministry. She said:
Ithas been a long journey for me, and not always the easiest one. Although Ifirmly believed that God was calling me to ordained ministry, and I neverdoubted it, I have had to be extremely patient to have my callingrecognised.Im very grateful to my friendsat church who have supported me through this time, my family who have alwaysunderstood how important my faith is to me and to the Revd Ray Khan who hasbeen a great support with his belief in me.
Iapproach my ordination date with many mixed feelings and emotions, but amlooking forward to my ministry within St. Johns and St. Andrews, serving Godin any way that I can, with the gifts that God has given me and to the best ofmy ability. I believe in an amazing God who is full of love and compassion forall.I cant quite believe Ill beordained Deacon in Worcester Cathedral on 30 June, but my journey does notfinish there.It is a journey for therest of my life and one that I look forward to, and to sharing with others.
Jo Williamson (Broadway,Evesham)
Johas lived in Broadway for 35 years and has been a Lay Minister in the Churchfor the last ten years. She is already involved in taking funerals andsupporting local parishioners. She said:
Beinga Lay Minister has been much more fulfilling and rewarding than Id imagined itwould be before I started training and Im expecting that being ordained willbe even better! Its a real mix of feelings of inadequacy and trepidation withexcitement and a sense of wanting to get on with the job. Ive been absolutelyoverwhelmed by the support that Ive received from so many people, bothChristians and non-churchgoers thats been really encouraging.
Ivebeen in the parish for a long time and have supported people through manydifferent life experiences. Funerals will continue to be an important part ofmy ministry and Im also looking forward to having a focus on children andyoung people. Its a real blessing to beable to continue to minister in a village where Ive been involved with peopleover many years.
Priests
Becky Elliott (WestWorcestershire Rural Team)
Beckywas a Science teacher before she was ordained Deacon a year ago. She now worksacross the West Worcestershire Rural Team (WWRT). She said:
Ivereally enjoyed my first year as curate. Ive met so many friendly, helpfulpeople and have been made to feel so welcome. No two days are the same and Ivehad a wide range of experiences from taking school assemblies to funerals topraying and planning with our ecumenical partners. Its amazing to see how Godis at work in our communities and exciting that Im called to be part ofthat.The WWRT covers a huge area, so ithas been challenging getting to know it all, but Ive enjoyed exploring it its been a fun year!
Beinga curate has not changed my vocation, but its definitely cemented my callingto help point people towards God and walk with them on their faith journey,whether thats in church, through the occasional offices of baptism, weddingsand funerals, or where they are. Im really looking forward to taking weddings,theyre always so exciting Ive already got a few lined up over the summer.It will also be a real privilege to preside at communion and thats definitelysomething that I expect to grow into and continue to reflect on over the courseof my ministry.
Paula Honniball (St.John the Baptist, Claines & St. Georges Worcester)
Paulais a part-time, non-stipendiary minister working in the parish of Claines andSt George, Worcester. Before being ordained, Paula worked as a supply teacherand part-time Registrar and continues to work as a supply teacher in twoprimary schools, two days a week. She said:
Ihave really enjoyed the past year. It has been hard work and the first fewmonths were about learning the role, but Ive enjoyed being in ministry thatfact that you can be taking a school assembly one moment and then holding thehand of someone who is dying the next. Although Ive been allowed to baptisepeople and take funerals as a Deacon, Im looking forward to a more sacramentalministry and feel this is the culmination of many years of discernment. Itllbe great for me to be able to marry people in the sight of God its such alife-changing moment for them.
Beingpart-time is sometimes difficult as there is always more that I could do.However, Ive come to realise that the two days that I teach is as much a partof my ministry as my parish work and its important to hold both togetherrather than see them as separate. Being part of a team has also been great,Ive been able to listen and learn from others who have been in ministry muchlonger than me. The versatility of parish ministry really suits me and where Iam at the moment feels right, but who knows what God is calling me to in thefuture.
ENDS
