TWO candidates from Redditch joined 12 others to be ordained in Worcester Cathedral to serve in parishes across the Diocese.
Seven candidates were ordained Deacon and are entering their first year of training as a curate. A further seven candidates, including Allison Davies at Holy Trinity, Redditch and Ian Evans serving in the Ipsley Team, have completed their first year and were ordained Priest; they are now able to preside at the Holy Communion.
The Bishop of Worcester, John Inge, presided at both ordinations, assisted by the Bishop of Dudley, and the Revd Catherine Pickford, Adviser for Continuing Ministerial Development in the Diocese of Newcastle, preached.
Bishop John said: “Ordination services are a great celebration of God’s call to serve. It is always a joy to ordain those who have responded to God’s call to dedicate their life to the service of God and other people in ministry.”
Mrs Davies said: “I am not sure what I expected from my first year of curacy, but since I started to serve God as an ordained deacon, it has been a journey of ongoing learning. Working across the five churches of the Holy Trinity parish in Redditch has been both exciting and challenging, not least because each church and community is so different to the others, but also because it has been a joy and a privilege to get to know each church congregation.”
Mr Evans added: “Being an assistant curate training at Christ Church, Matchborough and a minister in secular employment developing software for a global company has meant balancing the many calls on my time. A colleague, tongue in cheek, asked “which job are you moonlighting at?” It’s been a real challenge to think through the priorities of ordained ministry and work.
“In both the church and work environment I am learning the art of listening and offering pastoral care as people share things of their lives; innocent conversations that lead to much deeper spiritual needs.”
