A GROUP of 21 new Priests and Deacons are celebrating embarking on a new phase of their lives after a joyous weekend of ordination services in Lancashire.

The men and women (collectively known as ‘ordinands’) were ordained to serve in The Church of England in Lancashire to support our ongoing work across the County and to tell people about Jesus as part of our ‘Vision 2026: Healthy Churches Transforming Communities’.  

• Read more about our Vision on our Diocesan website.

The group prepared together for ordination while on retreat at our Diocesan Centre for Discipleship and Prayer at Whalley Abbey.  

Most of the candidates were then ordained at Blackburn Cathedral on Saturday by Rt Rev Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn. These were Bishop Julian’s last ordinations before he retires in mid-July.

Watch the livestream recording of the Priests' service here and the Deacons' service here. 

A further two ordinands were ordained on Sunday at St Mary Magdalen Church in Accrington by the Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev Philip North.

Four of this year’s cohort feature in our official ordination video, which is embedded above and is still available on our YouTube channel; also featuring Bishop Julian, Bishop Philip and Rt Rev. Dr Jill Duff, the Bishop of Lancaster.

The ordinands in the video will serve in Chorley (St George); Blackburn (Christ Church); Preston (St Stephen) and Preston (St Cuthbert).  

All Priests and Deacons will serve, or continue to serve, across Lancashire in Euxton; Preston (x4); Longridge; Ellel; Higher Walton and Hoghton; Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale; Leyland (x2); Blackburn (x2); Thornton-le-Fylde; Chorley; Blackpool; Broughton; St Anne's on Sea; Rufford and Tarleton; Accrington and finally Torrisholme.  

They have all completed ‘profile questionnaires’ to assist with coverage of this year’s ordinations.  

In addition the ordinations have been covered by many local media outlets including BBC Radio Lancashire: https://bbc.in/3AtZQtC ... listen at 1.13.15; 1.47.25; 2.22.10; 2.46.55 (extended interview) and 3.55.05

Reflecting on what was his final ordination weekend, Bishop Julian added: “It has been an extraordinary privilege and honour over these past nine years to be able to ordain and release many men and women into authorised ministry in The Church of England as the Bishop of Blackburn. 

“It is the culmination of a long journey for a number of people. Some have been exploring ordination for many years. Whether someone has been called to this role of leadership in the life of the church needs to be prayerfully considered. It’s not an easy job and we don’t rush into these things.” 

The Bishops and ordinands were joined at their services this weekend by The Dean of Blackburn, The Very Rev Peter Howell-Jones; the Archdeacon of Blackburn, The Venerable Mark Ireland and the Archdeacon of Lancaster, The Venerable David Picken, as well as representatives from parishes across Lancashire and family and friends.

• Social media: See tweets from the Diocese about the ordinations on our Twitter account @cofelancs and posts on Facebook/BlackburnDiocese 

Captions for the pictures on this page (from top to bottom)

The group of Priests gather after their ordination service on Saturday at Blackburn Cathedral with, centre, Rt Rev Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn; left, Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev Philip North; second left, Bishop’s Chaplain, Rev Sam Cheesman; third right, the Archdeacon of Blackburn, The Venerable Mark Ireland; second right, The Dean of Blackburn, The Very Rev Peter Howell-Jones and right, Rt Rev Dr Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster 

The group of Deacons gather after their ordination service on Saturday at Blackburn Cathedral with, centre, Rt Rev Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn; left, Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev Philip North; second left, Bishop’s Chaplain, Rev Sam Cheesman; fourth left, The Archdeacon of Lancaster, The Venerable David Picken; third right, the Archdeacon of Blackburn, The Venerable Mark Ireland, second right, Rt Rev Dr Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster and right, The Dean of Blackburn, The Very Rev Peter Howell-Jones 

New Priests Rev Jordan McDermott, centre left and Rev Matteo Zambon, centre right, with the Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev Philip North, at left and Rt Rev Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn at right; all outside St Mary Magdalen Church in Accrington after the ordination service on Sunday 

Heather Henderson, wife of Bishop Julian, reads from the New Testament during the Deacons’ ordination service

Rev Sarah Gill, Assistant Archdeacon of Blackburn and Vicar of St Stephen’s and St James’ Blackburn reads the Gospel during the Priests’ ordination service

The Bishop of Lancaster, Rt Rev Dr Jill Duff, delivers the sermon during the Deacons’ ordination service.

The Rev Canon Michael Leyden, Dean of Emmanuel Theological College, delivering the sermon during the Priests' ordination service. 

Ronnie Semley, July 2022