THREE NEW deacons are beginning their ministry across Berkshire following their ordination at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.
An ultimate frisbee player, Ukrainian refugee, maths lecturer and a former nurse are just some of the new clergy who have taken the next step in their training to join incumbents across the diocese while serving their curacies.
There were two services at Christ Church, one led by the Bishop of Buckingham, the Rt Revd Dave Bull, and the other by Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Mary Gregory.
Speaking about her faith and how important it is, the Revd Lucy Bowley said: “At no point in my life did I ever feel that there wasn’t someone with me along the road.
“I see Jesus at every crossroads beckoning me, saying, ‘hold my hand, we’re going this way – and I am with you.”
Lucy’s celebration was a real family affair, with her son and daughter playing in the worship band at Christ Church on the day.
During his sermon, the Bishop of Oxford The Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft said his prayer for the deacons would be for them to have bigger hearts, something spoken about in the ordination service itself.
He added: “To love is absolutely the heart and centre of what it means to be a Christian, and at the heart of what it means to be a deacon or priest or bishop.
“All too often we lose that focus in all the complexities of our work, and all there is to do.
“I think as a church at this present time we need to see again more clearly that the primary calling of the ordained is to love.”
Matthew Clark is looking forward to taking part in all that parish ministry brings, while for Kasja God has always been by her side, especially as when a young child, she would pray to God to find her hearing aids when her mother was cross they had been lost again.”
Following two or three years of training, the deacons will now serve as curates in a range of church contexts and traditions – urban, rural, large and small parishes – across some of the 808 churches, serving a growing population of 2.5 million, in the three counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire.
Lucy Bowley will serve in Binfield, Matthew Clark in West Downland, and Kajsa Longuere in Earley St Peter.
Each new deacon brings a wealth of experience from different walks of life, parts of the world, and career backgrounds.
Some are joining ordained ministry early on in their life and others are taking on the calling in retirement.
Apart from those who remain as a distinctive deacon, the curates will be ordained as priests next year.
For information, visit: oxford.anglican.org
