On October 12, at Chester Cathedral, the Bishop of Birkenhead licensed Jane Holland as a Pastoral Worker, along with a cohort of others. Here Jane tells us how her faith was seriously challenged, almost before it had got started.
Jane Holland is a part-time primary school teacher in Wilmslow. Despite a personal tragedy some years ago, she says God has always had a plan for her life, which eventually led her to follow his call to licensed ministry.
Jane didn’t have a Christian upbringing at home. Her mother was Catholic but didn’t practice. Whilst at boarding school Jane enjoyed going to church on Sundays and chose to be confirmed.
“I wasn’t from a family that went to church. Mum was Catholic and had some remnant of the faith and would talk vaguely about saying prayers if I had exams, but she wasn’t a practicing Christian.
“Whilst away at Boarding School I attended Christian assemblies and went to church on Sundays and I enjoyed it.”
By the time she had finished high school however, Jane was no longer attending church. It wasn’t until later at university, that her dormant interest took her slowly back to faith.
“I came back to Manchester for university and had a friend whose Dad had been ordained. I would sometimes go along with her to a service and I found that background interest, bubble up again."
Jane continued through life but didn’t take her emerging faith seriously. She married and gave birth to her son in 1996. Jane and her husband moved to Cheadle Hulme and settled down to life as a happy family.
Jane with her son, Ben, and husband Julian, taken shortly before she started attending Emmanuel Church, Cheadle Hulme
"We moved to Cheadle Hulme and I began to think about going to church again. I went to Emmanuel and felt at home straight away.”
“I had one child at the time, and I began going reasonably regularly at that point. A daughter followed in 1999 and that’s when life took a turn. Shortly after I gave birth, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. It was really quite quick, and he passed away when my daughter was just 7 months old."
The personal tragedy caused Jane to really think about what it was that she believed.
“I think those life events hit people one way or the other. I had a seven-month-old daughter and my son was only three. I was aware that I was saying to my son that Daddy was in heaven, but I didn’t really know what it was I was saying and what I believed.”
Jane had been going to church for just 18 months when her husband died. Already her faith journey was being seriously tested and she found herself at a fork in the road.
“Some evenings when I was alone at home I was in pieces, ranting and railing to God; at other times I was a bit more rational. My husband's passing really made me question things. Some people may have gone the other way but for me, my developing faith was important to me.
“I had only been going to church for 18 months but the people there were such a huge support. Looking back, it didn’t happen by coincidence that I went to Emanuel. God knew I would need the support and he put me in a place knowing that that’s where I would get it.”
Jane with her daughter, Kathryn, and son, Ben taken in September 2019.
Thanks to God and the support of her Church, Jane’s faith only grew stronger, eventually leading to her exploring a call to licensed Pastoral Worker ministry.
“The minister at the time was fantastic; he was very good at guiding me and exploring my faith through an Alpha Course. He suggested that I host it at my house, so I didn’t have to worry about childcare. Building up my faith gradually and having gone through the Alpha Course, he then encouraged me to have house groups at home and get involved in other ways. My faith grew and grew to the point where I was reading the diocesan newsletter and I noticed information about the diocesan event Called to Serve. That’s where the journey to Pastoral Worker ministry began.
“The Pastoral Worker course has been brilliant and challenging in ways I didn’t expect. It’s made me think more deeply about things. My church is my family; I’ve known people along time, and I want to give something back to them through Pastoral Worker ministry.”
Jane will take up her ministry as a Pastoral Worker at Emanuel, Cheadle Hulme where she will continue to lead Messy Church and some of the family services. She will also visit people who may not be able to attend church due to ill health.
Called to serve?
Readers and Pastoral Workers play an important ministerial role across the Diocese of Chester and are a key complementary ministry to priests in our parishes. Are you sensing God’s call on your own life? Follow Jane’s lead and join us to explore your calling at Called to Serve, a morning event for all those interested in exploring Reader, Pastoral Worker, or ordained ministry in the Diocese of Chester. Find out more.
