We welcomed our newest deacons and priests to the diocese over the weekend as 28 individuals, including 19 women, celebrated their latest steps in ordained ministry in the Church of England.
Deacons are those men and women who have been newly ordained in the Church of England, and priests are those who have completed their first year of ordained ministry.
The annual ordination weekend is always a major highlight in the Diocesan calendar. It sees friends, families and other well-wishers gather with our Diocese’s two bishops, archdeacons and other clergy at Guildford Cathedral to cheer on those being ordained at services on Saturday and Sunday.
This year, the ordination candidates come from a broad range of professional backgrounds, including solicitors, teachers, nurses, and even a stand-in Classic FM presenter and voice-over artist. Like some of the people they will serve in their ministry, some have faced significant challenges in their lives, including drug addiction and mental illness, before coming to faith or responding to their calling.
“For all our ordinands, Ordination is the culmination of a long journey, through discernment and training, in response to God’s call.” Said Revd Dr Craig Holmes, the Diocesan Director of Ordinands. “That’s why this wonderful moment of blessing and authorisation for ministry is such a joy, for the ordinands and their families, and the communities in which they serve.”
The weekend started with the Rt Revd Paul Davies, the Bishop of Dorking, ordaining 15 new priests on Saturday 28 June. Having been ordained as Anglican ministers for a year in the Diocese of Guildford, the role of priest now licenses the 10 women and five men to preside over Holy Communion as well.
Bishop Paul said, on ordaining the priests, “It has been such a joy to get to know the 15 people who have served as deacon in our diocese over the past year. As they are ordained priest, I look forward to rejoicing in the manifold ways in which God will use them 'to declare the wonderful deeds of Him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light’. As we are all invited to take part in this very special occasion, it’s also an opportunity for each of us to consider our own call and the ways in which the Holy Spirit might be speaking to us.”
It was then the turn of nine women and four men on Sunday 29 June, to be ordained by the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, the Bishop of Guildford, becoming brand-new reverends. Having completed their ordination training, the service signifies their initiation as deacons into the Church of England.
“It’s always an awesome privilege to lay my hands on the heads of some amazing people and to pray, ‘Send down the Holy Spirit on your servant, for the office and work of a deacon in your Church’.” Said Bishop Andrew. “It’s been wonderful to meet our deacons this year – a rich and diverse bunch of people with some powerful stories to tell – and my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would indeed equip them for many years of joyful, fruitful and faithful ministry in the years to come.”
The service included a sermon from the former Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Oliva Graham, who led the deacon candidates on a retreat before their ordination. In her sermon, she spoke about “ordinary human beings, living ordinary human lives”, taking up the extraordinary call from God to serve as ordained ministers.
There was a moving moment when the newly ordained deacons were welcomed as reverends by all present with an impromptu standing ovation. It visibly touched the 13 individuals standing at the front of the cathedral, as friends, family members and supporters recognised the years of prayer and dedication that had led to this point.
We pray for all our deacons and priests, and their parishes, as they step into this new exciting season and look forward to seeing how God works through them.