Our 2024 candidates were ordained at Hereford Cathedral, at the following times:
Ordination of PriestsSaturday 29th June, 10:30 AM |
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Ordination of DeaconsSaturday 29th June, 4:00 PM |
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Deacon Biographies:
Below is a list of Deacons who have been ordained this year. We have explored each ordinand's journey into faith, and we're delighted to share their personal stories here for you to read and learn more about each one:
Hi, my name is Angie.
My Christian faith and Church have been a big part of my life for the last 25 years, though, as a child, I was always encouraged to talk to God and pray if I was worried about something. When I was of school age, I attended a Church of England school and have fond memories of the vicar coming in, to take assemblies telling us stories, using his faithful friends, two gonks by the names of Freddy and Fergus. Later the names of my two goldfish. Even though we did not attend church regularly as a family, I knew how important God was to me from a very early age.
It wasn’t until my husband, and I moved to Highley in Shropshire 30 years ago, that I started attending church regularly. After having my first son, I felt very isolated as all my family and friends were still in Birmingham where I grew up. However, some of the mums who attend St Mary’s ran a monthly toddler group and they welcomed me and my son with open arms. Little did I know this was going to be life changing and start me on the road to ordination.
Through attending St Mary’s I became the children’s work co-ordinator and started doing something I had longed to do as a career – teach children. This gave me the confidence to apply for teacher training and after battling for a long time got onto a teacher training course but after only a few years in the classroom, I knew this wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing. I had a niggling feeling that I was being called to work for the church but I did not know where or in what capacity.
So, I went to see my vicar and he told me to get in touch with the DDVO and after lots of visits with him and discernment I went to BAP, but as I left the building, I knew I was not ready to take that next step. I felt I needed to take a bit more time. Again, little did I know the world would go into lock down and it would be another 2 years before I had the opportunity to go back to BAP and be recommended for training. My second BAP was very different, probably because it was held online but also because I felt God say now the time was right and I was ready to start my training, which I did in September 2022 at CGH, Ludlow.
The training has been a lifeline to me, as we have had a very turbulent time as a family over the last few years but through it, God has been faithful and the support I have received from both fellow ordinands and my tutors had been something I will treasure forever.
After ordination I am looking forward to starting my curacy staying as a member of the Severn Valley Benefice.
Hi! I’m David, and I’m going to be a curate in the Benefice of St Peter’s, Bromyard, and St Peter and St Paul, Stoke Lacy.
When I was a child, I grew up attending a lovely village church in the West Country. But when I moved away from home, I decided that what people at home didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. I tried to enjoy the pleasures of life without God. But life without relationship with God left me lonely.
Then some friends where I was living invited me to their local church. I went – reluctantly. But, over time, I realised what I’d been missing: God had made me for a relationship with Him. He filled the world with good things for me to enjoy in that relationship. I came to my senses, and came back to my heavenly Father, who welcomed me back home with open arms.
I worked as a teacher for 15 years. I loved it, but wondered if God was calling me to do something else. After being encouraged to consider ordination, I was accepted for training and moved to Oxford in 2021 in order to study. Now I get to share that same story that I’ve experienced – of how the Father has sent His Son Jesus into the world. How together they have sent the Spirit. And how the Spirit leads us back to the Son, who leads us to the Father, that we might be welcomed back to love and enjoy God."
Hello, my name’s Sam, and I’m a new addition to the Diocese of Hereford, coming to you from my native Diocese of Liverpool, where I’ve been training at Emmanuel Theological College for the last 3 years. I’m originally from a post-industrial town in the North West called St. Helens, roughly halfway between Liverpool and Manchester.
I always say I’m from a ‘culturally Christian’ family, but I made the decision to go to church by myself when I was 11 years old. I never thought I’d end up being called to ministry – church was just ‘my thing’ that I did on a weekend as a young person. When I first sensed God calling me to some kind of ministry in 2018, I took some time out to discern, which led me to working with some of the churches near where I grew up, primarily in a variety of social justice initiatives, alongside some experience of preaching and leading worship. This all led to me going forward to selection in 2021, and lo and behold, being sponsored to train for stipendiary ministry.
I have to be honest that until the autumn of last year, I hadn’t even heard of the beautiful town that is Much Wenlock, where I’m very excited to be going to serve my curacy, among the people and parishes of the Wenlock Team Ministry. As something of a ‘townie’, I’m very excited to experience countryside living for the first time, and the unique opportunities and challenges for ministry that it presents.
Hello, my name is Tracy Jones. I will be Ordained Deacon on June 29th, 2024, and will be serving my curacy in the Benefice of Great Hanwood, Longden and Annescroft with Pulverbatch. My faith and Knowledge of God’s presence in my life has always been strong one but has not always centred around church. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know that God was with me and working in my life. My coming to faith was never a light bulb moment, but more of a sunrise, slowly revealing its beautiful colours through the darkness. I was brought up by my grandparents in Hanwood, my nan was a Methodist, with a strong family history of lay ministry. As a child and teenager, I attended bible study and home worship groups. In 1986, age 21, I married my childhood sweetheart, Steve we moved to a neighbouring village, and we went on to have two children. In 1989 I joined West Midlands Ambulance Service and still work full time for them. My time in the ambulance service has seen God move me towards a chaplaincy roll. On reflection I can see how my experiences have shaped my formation towards public ministry. In 2009 we moved back to Hanwood, and I became an active member of the local church, leading intersessions and joining the local lay ministry team. I believe that there are certain pivotal moments on our faith journey’s that one can reflect on, one such moment was when a young lady who had been member of our youth church gave her testimony in church. She told us how she was being called to ordained ministry and talked about the process she was going through. I remember sitting there thinking how wonderful it was that she had this calling and the opportunity to follow it. Shortly after that I was approached by my then incumbent and told that he had a strong sense that I was being called to ordained ministry. That was the moment God started to reveal his pathway for me and I tentatively started my exciting, nerve racking, wonderful journey to Ordination. I am delighted to be joining the team back in my sending benefice.
My name is William.
I grew up in vicarages and rectories around the Diocese of Hereford, living in Acton Burnell, Kimbolton and Leintwardine. I never remember not having faith; growing up we felt that we lived in both church and home, with life consisting of choir, bellringing, fêtes and all other aspects of vicarage life. I felt the connection between the church and the community and saw the role of God and church in holding everything together.
After university I started exploring ordained ministry, while simultaneously training as a physics teacher. Instead of moving into ordination training then, I was appointed to a teaching job in Ware in Hertfordshire, and subsequently taught in Dorset and Somerset. We moved back to Herefordshire a few years ago and I was struck how much I had missed the village and church communities I had known as a child. I had never lost my call to enter ministry and following the pandemic I put myself forward again.
I have spent the past three years training at Ludlow and at Cuddesdon, a theological college just outside Oxford. I am lucky to be able to continue working with children at the cathedral and serve my curacy in the Western Parishes of the Leominster Team Ministry.