Three candidates were ordained as Deacons on Sunday to serve in parishes across the Diocese.
These candidates have been part of a training pathway aimed at those who see their vocation as being non-stipendiary (voluntary) ministers to churches in their local area. All those being ordained have already been involved in some kind of lay ministry within their parish. They were nominated by their incumbents to be part of the two-year training scheme and are currently at the start of their second year of this. They will continue training while also working in their parishes as a curate.
The ordination services were led by the Bishop of Dudley and Acting Bishop of Worcester, Martin Gorick. Bishop Olivia Graham preached at the service after leading quiet days for the candidates ahead of the ordinations.
Those ordained Deacon:
- Brother Michael Brossard to serve at Mucknell Abbey
- Sue Haywood to serve in Wordsley
- Robert Holdsworth to serve at St Stephen’s Church, Barbourne, Worcester
Bishop Martin said:
“I was delighted to be able to ordain Michael, Sue and Rob as Deacons as they continue to serve God in their different contexts. It has been great to get to know them better through the Auxiliary training pathway and they all have wonderful gifts which I know they will use as they continue to share God’s love with those they come into contact with.”
Quotes and background information from the candidates:
Brother Michael Brossard (Mucknell Abbey)
“Listen carefully, my child” is perhaps one of the best-known lines in the Rule of St. Benedict, often quoted by monks, nuns, and lay people. A friend once joked to me that its popularity might be due to the fact that it appears right at the very beginning of the Rule—raising the question of whether many of us ever read beyond the prologue. In this particular context, however, the line is rather appropriate: it speaks to the ongoing task—day in and day out—of staying alert to God’s voice and call in our lives.
After studying theoretical physics at university, listening to and responding to a sense of call to the monastic life meant crossing the Channel and joining a Benedictine community in the middle of Worcestershire. Twelve years on, and now having been in solemn vows for five years (life vows, which for Benedictines are Stability, Conversion of Life, and Obedience), I find that following a call to ordained ministry is proving less dramatic—at least in the sense that I will continue serving the community and our guests at Mucknell Abbey, although now as a Deacon in addition.
However, less dramatic does not mean less significant. I am very much looking forward to whatever this new form of service will bring. As an added bonus, I am likely to be the first Benedictine monk ordained in Worcester Cathedral since the Dissolution—and, hopefully, not the last!
Sue Haywood (Wordsley)
My journey to Ordination has been a long one. I first felt called to Ordained Ministry whilst on pilgrimage at Walsingham in 1996, but on exploring this call the following year, I discerned with others that this was not for then but for later. I continued to serve God and His people through a variety of different roles within the Church and in the community.
When I returned to work after Easter 2021, I felt "nudged" to explore early retirement so that I could spend a bit more time with my mom and discern what I was being called to do next with my life. After over 38years of working in the public sector I retired on 30 November 2021. It was a bit of a strange time as COIVD was still prevalent.
I was commissioned as an Authorised Lay Minister - Worship Leader in October 2022. I had had a number of conversations with my incumbent around exploring my call to Ordained Ministry again and applied to join the Auxiliary Pathway, which has enabled me to train and discern my call in a parallel process. I am very grateful for this opportunity and thankful for all of the support that I have had on my journey to Ordination.
I am looking forward to my Ordination as a Deacon with a "mixture" of both nervousness and excitement to be able to serve God and His people in Wordsley. I am looking forward to being able to undertake a wider ministry than I do now for example through baptisms and funerals whilst I continue to train and journey towards Ordination as a Priest.
Robert Holdsworth (Barbourne, Worcester)
After many years as a barrister and a judge, I thought it might be time for a normal retirement, but after completing the Bishop’s Certificate course, I was left with the question of ‘what next?’
The question stayed with me, pressing me gently and persistently for an answer and after a conversation with our vicar I began my journey to ordination as deacon. I became more involved at church and spent time listening to God through my Bible readings, through prayer, through circumstance, through the advice of mature Christian friends at our church and away from it, and through the rightly rigorous Auxiliary Pathway process, and finally the national Bishop’s Advisory Panel, all to find the answer, to test what if any vocation I had.
It’s been especially important to have the prayers, support and encouragement of my wife and our three children as, with them, I’ve walked this path. Through it all I became gloriously sure before God that ordination really is His calling on my life and was the immediate answer to that question of ‘what next?’
I am looking forward to another academic year of training from the diocesan team as well as learning practically within my parish in Worcester, where I have lived for my whole life. It will certainly be more of life in all its fullness, as servant to God, as assistant priest at St Stephen’s in Barbourne and as servant to the community, to people, to those who come to our church, and those yet to come. ‘What next?’ has been a good question to ask God.
View photos from the service
