Across the diocese we have been undertaking Archdeacons' Visitations, which involve the formal admission of churchwardens to their office, as well as providing support and encouragement to the parish. At the Yeovil and Ivelchester Visitation Steve and Emma Miller were sworn in as new churchwardens.At 28 and 38 are among some of the youngest churchwardens in the diocese.
Here Emma shares with us their journey and tells us what made them decide to become churchwardens at St Mary Magdalene, Berwick.
Steve and I have been attending St Mary Magdalene since 2021. We went as we were having our banns read and felt we needed to be present. What greeted us was a congregation full of love and friendship.
We attended our three readings and felt as though we could not just walk away; something (or shall we say someone) was calling us to go back. We married in July 2021 (a COVID wedding with minimal guests but lots of love) and returned to the church at the start of August.
We returned, much to the surprise of the congregation, but we felt that was where we needed to be. Our married life together has been a rough one; less than 6 weeks after our wedding, Steve was commenced on dialysis for end-stage renal failure, and he went three times a week to Dorchester. In this time of uncertainty, the only thing that kept us going was the church and our church family.
After many weeks of fear, anguish and exhaustion, I thought that I was going to be a widow before the age of 30. We then had the best call of our lives: Steve had a match; we drove to Oxford arriving at 2 am; this journey was filled with so many emotions and grateful that this was happening, scared something could go wrong but importantly sorrow for the life that is lost for Steve’s life.
1 December was a day that will forever stick in our hearts; when we knew Steve was going down for the surgery, the first and only thing I could think of doing was praying; how could I not? I needed him to be safe. What felt like a lifetime later, he was out of surgery and on the road to recovery. This event in our lives made our love for each other stronger and our faith stronger.
From that day on, we could not see ourselves doing anything else on a Sunday morning than going to church (except when we must work, the unfortunate side of the NHS); our love and faith for the Lord grew stronger.
We continued with many ups and downs with health in our marriage, including Steve suffering two broken ankles and the death of close relatives within the short time frame of one another. Our church became our safe space; nothing else mattered when we stepped through those doors; we felt every burden and heartache lifted for that hour. The congregation and preachers (Especially Dan and Sally at the start and Farhad since joining) helped us and prayed for and with us, which helped make us whole again.
When Nicky, our last churchwarden, announced that she was stepping down, there was uncertainty around who/if this role would be picked up. It took a couple of weeks of thinking and asking the Lord for advice, but I spoke with Steve and explained that this felt like a calling; there is no other way to describe it.
We chatted about it and then discussed our plan with Dan. To our amazement, everyone in the congregation was so happy that we wanted to take on this role, especially as we moved out of the village and drove 25 minutes each Sunday to get there, which is a small price to pay for what we have been given.
After many discussions and prayers, we knew this role was for us, and we know we will be in the for the long run. Being younger means, we have different ideas that can be brought to help younger people who are struggling with faith. Going to St Mary Magdalene to have our Banns read was the best decision that we have ever made. I thank God for bringing us closer to him and finding happiness in our congregation.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a churchwarden, please visit the churchwardens section of the Bath and Wells website.