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16 Deacons in Bath and Wells will be ordained Priest this weekend. 15 will be ordained by Rt Revd Ruth Worsley Bishop of Taunton at Wells Cathedral on Saturday. Christopher Absolon will be ordained on Sunday by Bishop John Perry at Holy Trinity, Combe Down, Bath.
On Wednesday the group met for a rehearsal before leaving for their retreat. Joining them is Cannon Karen Rooms, Cannon Missioner at Leicester Cathedral, Transition Priest of St Nicholas, Leicester and Women’s Ministry Enabler for the Diocese of Leicester.
“It is a real privilege to be with people as they prepare for ordination. I think our highest calling is to be beloved of God and so I want to encourage people to rest in their belovedness, but also to think about their priesthood as a calling to be taken, to be blessed, to be broken and given in ministry, just as they will take, bless, break and give bread as priests."
It has been an unusual time for the new Priests who were ordained Deacon during lockdown and began their curacies in Covid restricted times, but as Revd Richard Kelley, Benefice of Wellington and District Team Ministry says, whilst it has been tough at times, there have also been many moments of joy.“It’s been amazing, we've had so many opportunities since the beginning of Covid. I think that’s what I’ve enjoyed the most, the abundance of opportunities. I know it’s been incredibly hard for so many communities and for church communities as well, but there has been an opportunity to do stuff we would never have done otherwise. We’ve connected with people we would not normally have connected with, we’ve done things we’d never normally have done and I hope we can build on that. I hope it’s also brought some hope and light into the darkness of the last year.”
They are feelings echoed by Revd Michelle Kitto the Benefice of Glastonbury St John and St Benedict with Meare and Chaplain of Millfield Preparatory School, “It has been an unusual time, but it has been such a blessing, it’s just been wonderful to be out in the community.”
Revd Susie Kirkham is at Christchurch Clevedon.“It’s been a really challenging year for many reasons, but we’ve managed to do lots of planning and preparation. I’ve started a mid-week Communion which is going to be coffee, communion, and chat, a Grieve Well Café which has had some great uptake and in the autumn I am going to be starting a Memory Club. The beauty of it was that I was able to spend the year planning and gathering a team and training on various things to enable the projects to work well.”
The service will be available to watch on the Bath and Wells Facebook page on Saturday.
Please pray for all those to be ordained this year and for those who have supported them in their life and ministry so far.