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The annual Ordination service will take place at Worcester Cathedral on Sunday 3rd July. The service begins at 10.30am and will bring together clergy and parishioners from across the diocese.
This year four priests and nine deacons will be ordained to serve in parishes throughout Worcestershire and the West Midlands. Speaking about the forthcoming service the Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby said: ”This will be a great diocesan occasion when we can celebrate together the way in which God is drawing people to the rewarding work of ministry. “
The candidates will prepare for their ordination during a retreat at Holland House led by the Revd Prof. Sarah Coakley, Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, who will also preach the sermon at the ordination service.
To be ordained priest:
The Revd Jennifer Doores, who is serving as a stipendiary curate at St Mary’s Church Old Swinford. Jennifer Doores was born in Leamington Spa and was brought up mainly in Hampshire. She went to university in Hull where she read Philosophy. After graduating, she spent a year working as a volunteer for Lee Abbey International Students Club in London, then three months at Sainsburys before becoming a volunteer with Scripture Union, South Africa. She trained for the stipendiary ministry at Cranmer Hall, Durham.
The Revd Julie James, who is serving her title as a non-stipendiary curate at Salwarpe & Hindlip with Martin Hussingtree. Julie James came originally from Leicester and educated in Staffordshire and Yorkshire, has lived in Worcestershire for 27 years with her husband, Bob. They have a daughter and a son. She has been teaching since 1977. She and Bob enjoy walking and the countryside. Julie trained for the ministry on West Midlands Ministerial Training College.
The Revd Iain McFarlane, who is serving as stipendiary curate title at Malvern, St Andrew and Malvern Wells & Wyche. Iain McFarlane spent most of his life in Buckinghamshire, attending school in Chesham and then moving later to set up a family home in Princes Risborough. He used to work for Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, and then moved to Patek Phillippe in Gerrards Cross. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children, Isabel and Matthew. Until he began training for ministry at St John’s Nottingham he was heavily involved in local and community issues.
The Revd Margie Schutte, who is serving as a stipendiary curate in the Beckford Group was born in South Africa but has lived in England for 29 years. Until recently she was Director of the Marlow Pastoral Foundation offering counselling, and she had her own private counselling practice. She has also taught English as a Foreign Language for many years. She has been greatly supported by her four children and her home parish of St Michael’s and All Angels, Amersham. Margie trained for the ministry at the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course.
To be ordained deacon:
Theresa Jones was born in Newry, Co. Down. She is married to David and they have two sons. She trained as a teacher at Westhill College, Birmingham, and studied Theology at Birmingham University. She taught Religious Studies and English in secondary schools in the Midlands for 24 years before training for the ordained ministry at Queen’s College, Birmingham. Her interests include art, literature and poetry writing. During the Holy Year, 2004, she and David completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. She will serve as a non-stipendiary curate at Bromsgrove, St John.
Frances Mant was brought up in the Midlands. She has returned after education and work experience in Cambridge, London, Exeter and Oxford. Her specialist subjects are medicine, social work and motherhood. She is married to Jonathan and they have a son and a daughter, and they have recently moved to Bromsgrove. Frances trained for the non-stipendiary ministry at Queen’s College, Birmingham and she will serve as a non stipendiary curate at Bromsgrove, All Saints.
Sarah Mitchell was brought up in Bretforton near Evesham and went to school in Worcester. She obtained a degree in Geography from Birmingham University and after she graduated she worked for 18 months in admin and logistics. She then travelled in Australia and New Zealand for nearly six months before beginning her training at Westcott House, Cambridge. Sarah will serve as stipendiary curate at St Luke’s, Cradley Heath.
Mary Nobles was born and brought up in Worcester and went to Worcester Girls Grammar School. She trained as a nurse at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and has practised as a nurse in the West Midlands, New Zealand, Australia, Essex and Wales where she became a Chief Administrative Nursing Officer and, following reorganisation, an Executive Director of West Glamorgan Health Authority. Mary is a widow, a stepmother to Fiona and Michael and step grandmother to Natasha. She trained at The West of England Ministerial Training Course and she will serve as a non-stipendiary curate in the St Matthias and Malvern Link Team Ministry.
Susan Oliver was born in rural Warwickshire and spent her childhood there, in industrial Yorkshire and suburban Stourbridge. After graduating from University College, London in Law she trained as a social worker in Birmingham where she subsequently worked in Sandwell and was a senior probation officer in the West Midlands Probation Service. Married since 1983 to Bob, they have two children; Bob also has two daughters. She reads avidly, cares deeply about social justice issues, likes sewing, cooking and the Lake District; and has loved studying for a BA in Applied Theology at Queens as ministerial training. She will serve as a stipendiary curate at Fladbury with Wyre Piddle and Moor and Cropthorne with Charlton.
Neil Popham was born and brought up in Bristol. He went to Trinity College, Oxford in 1987 to study Chemistry and left eight years later having acquired a doctorate, his wife, Sophia, and his Christian faith. He and Sophia then went to Germany for 18 months where Neil was a research chemist. He then worked for six years for Albright and Wilson in Oldbury before beginning his training for the ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall in Durham. He enjoys bird watching, cooking and maintaining his West Country roots by drinking real cider and following the fortunes of Bristol City Football Club. Neil will serve as stipendiary curate at Quarry Bank.
Beryl Pritchett comes originally from Little Sampford in Essex, moved to Worcester to train as a teacher, and has remained in this area. She is married to David and they have two children and a grandchild. They have lived in Wordsley for 31 years and she was licensed as a Reader there in 1997. Beryl has taught in a local secondary school for 21 years. She trained for the ordained ministry at West Midlands Ministerial Training Course and will serve her title as a non-stipendiary curate at St John’s, Brockmoor.
Ian Spencer was born in Selly Oak, Birmingham. When he left school he joined the Royal Navy and served in the Gulf, the Falklands and Northern Ireland. On leaving the Navy he spent 17 years managing IT services across the UK and Europe. He enjoys cooking, gardening, golf and being outdoors. He trained for the ministry at Queen’s College, Birmingham and he and his wife, Karen and their three daughters will live in Malvern where Ian will serve as stipendiary curate at Great Malvern Priory.
Olwen Woolcock was born in Birmingham though brought up in Wales and Yorkshire. She took her degree in medieval and modern history at Birmingham University. Work experience includes a variety of administrative posts, teaching adult education, and most recently developing an Age Concern project to set up day-centres for the rural elderly. Olwen enjoys photography, creative sewing, walking the dog and being out in remote and open places. She is married to Ray and they have three daughters. Olwen trained for the ministry at West of England Ministerial Training Course and will serve as a stipendiary curate Claines.
Press photographs of the ordination will be available on July 4.
The Diocese of Worcester is one of 44 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.
© Copyright The Diocese of Worcester
