A cohort of 18 men and women were ordained into the priesthood on Saturday. Friends, family and colleagues joined them to witness the happy occasion at Chester Cathedral.
Bishop Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester, led what was his last ordination of priests service before retirement. He says: "It is particularly encouraging to be retiring when such a splendid and large group of clergy are being ordained. All of those who are being ordained this summer have been nurtured and sponsored for ordination from within this Diocese."
Addressing the ordinands, Bishop Peter said: "Priests are ordained to lead God's people in the offering of praise and the proclamation of the gospel. They share with the Bishop in the oversight of the Church, delighting in its beauty and rejoicing in its well-being. They are to set the example of the Good Shepherd always before them as the pattern of their calling."
Those priested on Saturday include a Consultant Physician at the NHS and a former primary school teacher.
The Revd Professor Peter Selby can usually be found at Manchester Royal Infirmary where he works as a Consultant Physician. He has spent the last year training at St Andrew’s, Cheadle Hulme, whilst continuing to work as a doctor in the NHS.
The Revd Kirsty Allan has been training at St Bartholomew’s, Wilmslow. For many years she worked as a primary school teacher and had no expectation of following a calling into ordained ministry. She thought the Church would find it difficult to welcome her to be a member of the clergy. She says: “I never thought the Church would want a personality type like mine, somebody who is an extrovert. It was at Greenbelt Festival hearing Revd Kate Bottley talk about being an extrovert and in her words, “a bit of a show off”, that I thought maybe that’s what God wants to use in me. I can’t help but think that if we’re going to move forward, be creative, spread the gospel message and build the kingdom on earth, then we need all personalities because we’re ministering to humanity in all its diversity.”
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See a full list of this year's cohort of Deacons and Priests.
The newly priested processing out after the service - see all the photographs on Facebook.