The annual Ordination weekend approaches for The Church of England in Lancashire, with 27 men and women becoming Deacons and Priests in parishes across the County; the highest figure in this Diocese for several years.

And today the Diocese has released a new video on YouTube profiling a representative five of our ordinands. 

Entitled ‘Snapshots of a journey with Jesus’ the video provides insight into their personal faith stories and journeys to this important moment in their lives and also in the life of the parishes where they will serve.

Also appearing in the video are Rt Rev. Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn and Rt Rev. Dr Jill Duff, the Anglican Bishop of Lancaster, both of whom discuss the importance of ordination. 

They encourage everyone in parishes across the County – both lay and ordained – to consider how God may be calling them to serve in His church at this time, as we continue to move forward with our Diocesan Vision to have 'Healthy Churches Transforming Communities'. 

The five ordinands who feature in the new video are …

• Emily Barry who will be ordained Priest to serve in the parish of Ribbleton
• Peter Dillon who will be ordained Priest to serve in the parish of Blackburn St Stephen and St James
• Jennifer Guilder who will be ordained Priest to serve in the parish of Poulton-le-Sands Holy Trinity with Morecambe St Laurence
• Joseph Kochanski who will be ordained Deacon to serve in the parishes of Rufford and Tarleton
• Calum Mullet who will be ordained Deacon to serve at Preston St George the Martyr within the parishes of Preston St John and St George the Martyr

Additional written profiles of these ordinands and all the others from this year’s cohort can be found on the Diocesan website news section here. All 27 ordinands are currently on pre-ordination retreat at our Centre for Christian Discipleship and Prayer at Whalley Abbey in the Ribble Valley. 

There will be formal group pictures (including pictures taken at the various weekend services) and further updates to come on Monday.

In the new video, Bishop Philip says: “Over the next few days, we're going to be witnesses as 27 men and women are ordained to the diaconate and to the priesthood and that will unleash so many new gifts and so much vision and energy to churches around the Diocese. It’s an exciting time.

“The ordination season is also a challenge to everybody in our Diocese as God sets apart ordinary men and women to serve in His name; giving them the gifts they need to do so. So I'm also hoping that as we ordain these 27, many other people will be saying, ‘what is God calling me to do and how does he want me to use my gifts’?”

Bishop Jill adds: "Enjoy the stories that you'll hear in this video and maybe as you watch and listen you'll find that God is calling you to serve. My prayer is through our ordinations people across Lancashire will encounter Jesus and He will set many hearts on fire and many beacons will be lit all across Lancashire as a result.”

The ordinands share a range of thoughts and personal experiences in the video, which was produced by Diocesan Communications Manager, Ronnie Semley. 

Emily Barry, who will become a Priest serving at Ribbleton Parish on the outskirts of Preston said: “I used to think church was about turning up on a Sunday and that faith was about being a good person. But I didn’t understand that God knew me and loved me until I was 18 and at university; that knowledge was transformational for me. I then learned to walk every day of my life with God and to have a sense of his presence with me through His Holy Spirit.

“I'm looking forward now to being able to give the Eucharist to people and my prayer is that, as they come to receive on a Sunday, they too will meet God in the way that I have.”

Meanwhile, Peter Dillon, who will be a Priest at Blackburn St Stephen and St James, says in the video: “My ordination to the priesthood will be an exciting, challenging time for me and it brings together everything about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

“But no matter who we are and what we do (and the vast majority of us aren't called to the priesthood) God has a purpose for us. He has a call in our lives and I look forward in whatever way I can to enable anyone to look towards Christ and to live a life of faith that will bring them peace beyond all human understanding.”

Jennifer Guilder, who will be a Priest in the parish of Poulton-le-Sands Holy Trinity with Morecambe St Laurence, talks in the video about how God was ‘persistent’ in calling her to this new role.

She says: “I definitely did not want to be ordained! Nothing could be further from what I'd hoped and planned for my life.

But God had other ideas and I found out that He can be quite persistent! As I was exploring, I came across a quote that said, ‘a priest is someone who has been dazzled by the beauty of God and longs to share that beauty with the world’.

“That is something that I do now. In my curiosity, I've been so mesmerised by the beauty of a relationship with Jesus that I get to share it in my community every day!"

New Deacon, Joseph Kochanski, who will serve the parishes of Rufford and Tarleton adds: “One of the things that really inspires me is the words of the Ordinal when it's talking about the calling of a Deacon, in part of which it says is to work with others to reach out to those who are poor, weak, marginalised and oppressed; reaching out into the forgotten corners of our world that the love of God might be made visible.

“Now I'm so looking forward to being with the people of the parishes of Rufford and Tarleton, walking with them to go out into the world and make the love of God and the good news of Jesus Christ known.”

Also in the video, Calum Mullet who will be a Deacon and serve at St George the Martyr at the heart of Preston city centre is particularly looking forward to leading outreach to young people in the city.

He comments: “I am really excited to be serving as a Deacon at St. George's Preston! My work will include the pastoral support and discipleship of students in the city … hopefully setting up a new student group and Bible study group to help share the love of Jesus with them; as well as encouraging them to get involved with the life of the church and to find the love of Christ there for themselves.”

You can watch the whole video here on our YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, the ordination services take place this weekend at Blackburn Cathedral on Saturday at 10.30am (Deacons) and 2pm (Priests) with a further Priests’ service on Sunday at 4pm. All the services will be livestreamed on the Cathedral YouTube channel.

Ronnie Semley, June 2024