It’s an exciting time as the diocesan-family looks forward to the ordination services taking place on Saturday 28 September.
There are two ordination services, both of which will be livestreamed; one for those being ordained deacon, and one for those being ordained priest.
- Join the livestream for the ordination of priests (11am)
Download the service sheet
- Join the livestream for the ordination of deacons (3pm)
Download the servicesheet
Being made a deacon is the foundation of all ordained ministry. For most clergy, after a year, they will be ordained as priest.
Why ordained ministry
Some Christians feel that God is calling them to be ordained and to serve the Church as clergy. The ordination service is the start of someone's public ministry.
It often follows a long journey of exploring their calling, of having their calling tested by the Church, and several years of training.
During the service, the bishop lays their hands on the person and asks God to ‘send down the Holy Spirit' onto each candidate, beginning their ministry.
The bishop also prays that God will give them the gifts, the grace, and the strength, they need for serving the Church as ordained ministers.
Our new deacons
For the seven people who are to be ordained deacon in our Diocese this year, the service marks a special moment.
It is the moment they will be given the title ‘the Reverend’, can wear a dog collar, and lead services as an assistant curate (trainee vicar) in their parish.
Following their ordination, our deacons will spend the first three or four years of their ministry working as curates in a church with an experienced priest.
These priests will work with the curates to prepare them for their future ministry in the church - a bit like an apprenticeship.
One of those being deaconed is Becky Willoughby. As a self-supporting minister, alongside her training, she'll be continuing her job as a Taekwondo instructor.
She believes Christians can bring their faith into everything they do.
Watch her story below:
All those being ordained deacons this year are:
- Aji Adeloye
to serve in to serve in the benefice of St Barnabas, St Paul Cray - Tim Aldred
to serve in the benefice of St Mary’s Hayes - Carol Bridge
to serve in the benefice of Kent Downs and Malling Team - Laura Polaine
to serve in the benefice of St Peter and St Paul, Bromley - Mark Sanger
to serve in the benefice of Christ Church and St Paul, Anerley - Becky Willoughby
to serve in the benefice of St Augustine with St Luke, Bromley Common - Bart Woodhouse
to serve in the benefice of Greenhithe and Swanscombe
Find out more about the ordinands below
Our deacons will continue to listen to God, and how they may be being called to other ministries, perhaps in hospitals, schools, or prisons as chaplains, and growing in their faith.
Being ordained a priest
After a year of curacy, some of those who have been ordained may continue in ministry as distinctive deacons.
For most, the next step is ordination as a priest. Those being ordained priest this year are:
- James Butler
to serve in the benefice of St Paulinus, Crayford - Robert Byrne
to serve in the benefice of Christ Church, Tunbridge Wells - Anna Drew
to serve in the benefice of Holy Trinity, Gillingham - Hannah Glover
to serve in the benefice of St George, Weald - Jessica Heeb
to serve in the benefice of Snodland with Lower Birling - Mark Morgan
to serve in the benefice of St Mary, Chalk - Raymond Shergill
to serve in the benefice of Holy Trinity with St John, Penge - Andrew Smith
to serve in the benefice of Holy Trinity, Lamorbey - Roberta Woodward
to serve in the benefice of Barming with Teston
As well as having hands laid on them by the bishop, other priests are invited to join the bishop at that point of the service
All of our ordinands bring a variety of talents and perspectives, adding to the diversity of our Diocese.
Please pray for all our ordinands, their families and friends, and the communities they will serve.
God has a plan for each and every one of us. Explore how God may be calling you. Visit: www.rochester.anglican.org/everyday-faith/gods-plan-for-you/
Meet the new Deacons
My professional background was in Investment Banking and Real Estate where I had a career life spanning over two decades, most of which were in leadership positions where I managed between 4-80 workforce at various times.
I most enjoyed my time in construction though, as it really thrilled me seeing drawings on plan/paper being built on ground and becoming physical structures.
A major challenge some years back was the shocking medical maltreatment of my youngest daughter which left her brain-damaged and in a wheelchair. Navigating that terrain has been a real challenge to date and it’s just being the Lord carrying me through.
I am now extremely interested in issues of disabilities and have been fortunate to co-found OAKONSULT Disabilities Outreach (a non-for-profit organisation) supporting parent carers and advocating for the inclusion of the disability community in church life.
I am driven solely by the mission of seeing God saving souls and my passion for people knowing God and understanding His love. I earnestly desire to see and be part of the expansion of God’s kingdom in my community and here on earth, and actively seek to contribute my quota wherever I find myself.
Since being aware of the call of God on my life, I have always looked forward to a life of service; I see this phase of my life as a privilege, and I remain eternally grateful to God.
I love singing gospel songs and hymns, love nature watching and historical films, and very importantly doing life with young people.
I grew up in north Lancashire within a small farming community.
Since the age of 16 I’ve been a regular runner, fell running in my youth, and running several half-marathons and marathons including The Great North Run and The London Marathon.
Wanting to push the boat out from my 40th year I trained and ran a local Iron Distance Triathlon, the Midnight Man Race, involving a 2.5 mile swim, a 112 mile bike race, and a full marathon to finish, all taking place from 6pm through the night!
One of my other passions has been the mountains of the UK, rock climbing and walking most of the Lake District and more recently ticking off the Scottish Munros whilst wild camping.
I’ve served in the wider church since my mid 20’s after a very clear “Prodigal Son” moment. I began to preach in the market square at my home town of Lancaster with some friends both young and old.
This led to becoming a Local Preacher and some formal theological training at the Methodist lay training centre, Cliff College.
There I met my now wife, Rachel, and grew in confidence that I could engage well with the academic side of ministry and apologetics. This led to the Lord wonderfully opening the door for me to study for a PhD in Biblical Studies at Sheffield University.
Since completing my PhD. I have worked for the Methodist Church as a Pioneer Lay Minister, engaging mainly in evangelism and church planting.
After 16 years in this role I began to seek the Lord as I could no longer supress the niggling feeling I needed to be ordained.
This led to a clear call to the Church of England, through many Anglican friends, other church leaders, and my ongoing connection with New Wine and local New Wine churches.
The discernment process was initiated with the prayer, “Lord keep this door closed if it’s not your will for me, and keep it wide open if it’s where you want me to be”.
The door has been wonderfully open at every stage as I have discerned with the Church, been trained at St Mellitus, and now begin my life as a curate at St. Mary’s Greenhithe and St. Peter & St. Paul Swanscombe.
I have had a varied career, having worked in a pub, administration, and website development, as well as bringing up a family.
I worked as a Licensed Lay Minister in the parish of St Mary’s, Hayes, for five years, before beginning ordination training. During this time, I especially loved building community networks and working with the Leadership Teams of the local primary school and pre-school.
At the start of the 2020 pandemic, these strong links led to the formation of Hayes Community Foodbank and we still help many vulnerable families each week.
An incredible team of Trustees and volunteers has developed over the past four years or so, and whilst I remain Chair of Trustees, I have been able to hand over the reins of Operations Management to a very capable team. This will enable me to focus on my time as a Curate.
I met my husband at Taekwondo many years ago and since stopping full-time work, I earned a wage through teaching Taekwondo at an after-school club. I will keep teaching throughout Curacy, as I am self-supporting, and I actually really enjoy it!
I also enjoy travelling and experiencing different cultures and food, walking - most of my best thoughts and reflections for sermons and Bible study occur when I’m out and about in the fresh air.
Time with my husband and two teenagers is precious and keeps me grounded, teenagers also give a fresh insight into the world. I look forward to meals out, or at home, with friends and family and I absolutely love live music and the theatre – bands, musicals, plays, West End, or local – any live performance really!
I look forward to continuing to share God’s love and justice in a new setting, having learnt that stepping out with God, in small ways, can lead to big things.
I have had a very varied working life, from research technician to Social Care. I was privileged to spend four years as a volunteer for Marie Curie working in Policy and Strategy, and as a co-founder of nationwide Expert Voices, using story-rich lives to improve the care and choices of all those living with terminal and life limiting illness.
I have a particular fondness for science fiction and fantasy books and films, you can’t beat a great good versus evil story. A lifelong curiosity for how things work especially the intricacies of creation, from the smallest to the exploration of the universe.
Serving God in whatever way I was asked to do, including the Parochial Church Council (PCC), choir, Churchwarden and as an LLM, continued to leave me with ‘what is the something more’?
One evening a trusted friend asked, ‘have you ever thought about ordination?’. Seeing something that had remained out of my grasp. It would have been so easy to have said no, don’t be silly, but when it was confirmed by an array of unsought affirmation that God was calling and had been calling for a while, I prayed, listened and followed.
Much has led to this point and our surprising God has truly gifted me with a fulness of life and love beyond measure that I could never have imagined. I am excited (if not a little nervous) to serve and share this in my curacy parishes ‘to infinity and beyond’.
I believe God calls everyone in a variety of ways with a variety of ministries regardless of what, who or where they come from. Listen to the richness of the tale and know that everything is possible. God knows each and every one of us!
I came into ordination training from being a lay minister for Families and Young People for 15 years.
I heard the call towards ordained ministry at the age of 34; some would say I am a slow burner, but I have seen how everything has been in God’s timing rather than mine, providing me with what was needed for myself, my family and those I have journeyed alongside.
Previously, I have worked both in the church and in a secular environment throughout my career, as a practitioner, manager, and within senior leadership teams.
I currently support the development of a school project that enables professionals to bring their rich and diverse experiences to inspire and equip and encourage an emerging generation that wouldn’t normally get this sort of input.
I am neurodivergent, which I consider to be a super-power. This means I approach things differently, thinking outside of the box.
I am lover of all things Volkswagen. I have had a camper van for many years and love spending time travelling and being outdoors with family, friends and the dog.
I came to faith at 14, deciding to live fully for God at the age of 17. I found myself being called to work with young people, and over the years, that same call has widened to include not just the children and families that surround young people, but whole communities.
Alongside this call to serve people, God has deepened my calling to him, deepened my faith and has brought me to a place of being a Deacon.
I have seen his hand over my life, transforming me and preparing me for my continual journey of serving in his kingdom.
I am totally amazed at how God provides before we know our need, brings transformation even when we think it is impossible, and loves because of only one condition, that we are his.
Today is a mark in time of a deepening call in my journey with God; a commitment in front of others, before God, of stepping out once again into a new way of being. Just as it has been with other life moments, getting married, becoming a parent, I have an inkling of what is in store, but expect to be amazed at the depth of what is to come.
So, I stand looking back, remembering how faithful God has been, choosing to be fully present in this moment as I respond to his call, and I look forward, with a sense of joy and trepidation, to the future he has in store for me.
I’ve worked for most of my career for international development charities, working on humanitarian relief, development, and environment projects around the world. This has been with a mixture of church and secular charities and I’ve had the privilege of visiting and working in many special places.
Most recently, until last year I was the Head of Policy at the Fairtrade Foundation, and have seen the amazing difference Fairtrade makes to farmers and workers around the world – it was essential to make sure I had a Fairtrade cotton surplice and clerical shirts in time for the ordination service!
I also enjoy writing, often bringing together issues arising from my work and questions of faith.
Among other things I enjoy running, and with a large parkrun taking place in the parish every week, I’m hoping to take part and get to know the other Saturday runners. However, I have yet to ask my training incumbent about the suitability of curates arriving at morning prayer wearing running kit!
Being in my early 50s, I am something of a latecomer to ordained ministry. A few things came together to make me start pursuing it. Among others, a few years ago I found myself really enjoying leading worship as part of an informal worship team at my sending parish.
I also found myself spending more time in contemplative forms of prayer, and this was especially important for the process of discernment. I’ve really enjoyed training, both the chance to do interesting placements in a hospital chaplaincy, parish church, and pioneer initiative, and also the academic side of study, and it has all helped affirm the decision.
Many of my contemporaries feel drawn to the spiritual side of life, but for various reasons aren’t often looking to the church in response. There’s a paradox here to reflect on and learn from, and also an opportunity that feels important and exciting.
One hope I have (among many others) is that in parish and community life, I’ll be helping to offer the gifts of Christian spirituality, thought and prayer to everyone, perhaps especially to people who might not otherwise consider them.
My career has been in international development, primarily in community health; writing proposals for funding, and managing projects with a focus on the most vulnerable. I have worked with NGOs which has led me to live and work overseas, mostly in Africa, and to travel globally.
I enjoy the outdoors; hiking, jogging and tennis, as well as some gardening.
As a teenager, I was seeking how best to serve God, but it was later in life that the current path has led me to becoming a deacon.
As I begin this new chapter I look to God’s leading, as I serve others, meeting them wherever they are at in their life’s journey, and in doing so to share the love of Christ.