Congratulations to our twenty-five ordinands who will become deacons and priests this Petertide.
During the weekend of 1 and 2 July, fifteen people will be ordained as deacons and ten as priests. You can find out more about each of our ordinands below...
Deacons
Grace Aciro
Gareth Gladman
Amy Gooding
Kayla Harward
Sarah Heslop
Alfred Jennings
John Mayes
Bethany McNeeley
My name is Bethany McNeeley. I moved to the UK to serve on a gap year with Tees Valley Youth for Christ in 2013. One year turned into ten years of ministry in Teesside. Before training at Cranmer Hall I was a Youth Worker in the Parish of Norton. I will be serving in the Parish of Usworth - Holy Trinity and St Michaels. I am looking forward to this next season and seeing what God has in store!
Jess Monopoli
Sarah Quinn
Ben Scott
Kathryn Tiernan
Gordon Tough
Miriam Wakefield
Mary Yasini
I discerned a call to ordained ministry while I was a student Durham University. For the past three years I have been training for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge. Part of my studies included completing an MPhil in Theology with Jesus College, Cambridge. My research focused on World Christianities, the Anglican Communion, ecclesial unity and postcolonialism. These interests led me to spending a semester living and worshipping at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute. Bossey is an international community which is part of the World Council of Churches. Aside from studying, I've also had several parish placements as well as some chaplaincy experience. I'm excited to start this new stage of my ministry, as I anticipate my ordination to the diaconate. I look forward to showing God's love through service to the community and leading in worship.
Priests
Michael Baldwin
Amanda Boyd
It has been a privilege to serve my curacy at Hillside Church in Gateshead which has two worship centres, All Saints, Lobley Hill and St Cuthbert’s, Marley Hill. We have a wonderful family of worshippers who care about the community we live in. This year has been full of learning experiences and it’s been a joy to see not only the growth in myself but also the growth in faith in others.
I’ve had the opportunity to share my faith in lots of settings including helping to launch a new congregation in Watergate Court for people with dementia which has been a heartfelt experience. Alongside my training incumbent, we modified the Holy Communion service into a more accessible form. Hillside’s bereavement group, for people of all faiths and none, is another are I am very much involved in. The highlight of this year for me has been in the occasional offices of baptisms and funerals - being responsible for all aspects of organisation from initial allocation to ensuring sufficient support is available to help the event run smoothly.
The most difficult part of this year, has been the loss of my mum. However, having a strong faith and trusting in God has helped enormously.
It has on the whole been a very energizing year and I am excited and looking forward to presiding Eucharist and being able to carry out weddings too.
Anita Burke
Emma Harte-Waters
Kath Long
Rachael Phillips
James Scott
Simon Spencer
Jason Wratten
Hi! I’m Jason Wratten, currently serving my curacy in the Parish of Jarrow and Simonside. Before ordination I spent four and a half years working in a pub kitchen as an apprentice Chef near to where I grew up in South Yorkshire. While working there, I heard my call to ordination and then started to explore my calling by spending some years as a ministry assistant, first in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, for two years and then a year in Nottingham. I trained for ordination at Cranmer Hall in Durham.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first year in curacy and my year serving the community of Jarrow and Simonside as Deacon. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I often am, that God has called me to use the skills learned during my time working in the pub to feed those around me both spiritually and physically alongside the clergy and church members that I work with. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I’m about to be ordained priest but I’m sure that it will by the time Petertide arrives. I look forward to working closer with those around me as who I am called to be and continue to serve those around me.