Matt Vaine, who will serve his curacy in the Benefice of Bath Odd Down with Combe Hay, came to faith in his teens and very early on felt his vocation in life would be in ministry. When he was younger that calling led him to South Africa for a gap year where he served in a church. Following his time in Africa Matt returned to the UK and took up a post as a youth worker in his church in Winchester.
Later Matt once again travelled overseas with his wife to serve as serve as an associate minister in New Zealand. He remained in New Zealand working as a Baptist pastor until 2019 when he returned to the UK and took up a post as a youth and community worker for the YMCA. Matt said: “During this time, I sensed God directing me in surprising ways to ordained ministry in the Church of England. My journey of faith, especially with this vocation of ministry, has partly been one of following Jesus in unexpected ways.”
Matt and his wife Sara have two young children and are waiting the arrival of their third, who is due around the time of the ordinations.
Jacqui Keir-Bucknall spent much of her early life travelling overseas. She was born in Germany when her father was serving in the military and moved around with her family in Germany and Singapore. After university Jacqui spent time working in Malaysia, Oman and Dubai. In 1997, Jacqui returned to England from the Middle East, and settled in North Somerset where she retrained in primary education, she spent time working as an Advanced Skills Teacher, and was a Headteacher for many years.
It was in 2014 when Jacqui first felt the call to ordained ministry, but at the time she reasoned to herself, that she must have misunderstood the promptings. Nevertheless, the gentle but persistent nudging from God continued and in 2018, Jacqui decided to explore the calling again, this time more openly to see where the Lord might lead, but as she says she still, “fully expected to be politely corrected in my thinking!” However, prayer and reflections throughout the process and the acknowledgement at BAP, all served to affirm her calling and in 2019 Jacqui started the transformative journey of three years part-time training at Sarum College.
She says: “As soon as I opened myself fully to where the Lord might lead, I felt my heart as though welcomed home and at peace. God has blessed me through the encouragement and support of my family at Locking Castle Church and, more recently, through those where I am serving in curacy at Winscombe and Sandford with Churchill. “
But Jacqui’s travelling days may not be over, she says, “I have a simmering sense that I might be called to serve in the Middle East and so I’m learning Arabic. It’s been an unexpected journey so far and although I am still learning to let God determine the route, the future destination, although unknown, is exciting.”
Jamie Fox is married to Beccy. We have three children aged 12, 10 and 8. He was born in London but grew up in Somerset. Before he began the journey towards ordination, Jamie worked as an in-house lawyer at the Environment Agency. He says he sensed God calling him at a young age, but didn’t have the confidence to respond to the call until later in his life. “I grew up in a Christian family and always had a faith in God. God came to seem more real to me when I went to university and especially when I went to do a ‘year abroad’ in France. Soon after that, I began to sense a call to Christian ministry, but it’s taken many years for me to become confident of that call, and to feel that I am ready to start living it out.”
Jamie will serve his curacy in the Benefice of Taunton St Mary Magdalene and St John the Evangelist.