The Archbishop of York ordained nine people in York Minster on Sunday 29th June. Eight women and one man were made Deacons in the Church of England. You can see pictures for the service here.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said, “Our annual ordinations are a reminder that God is continually calling people to serve the Church and our communities: men and women, from rural, suburban and urban areas, and from many different types of churches. It is wonderful to see such a flourishing of ministry amongst women and men in this Diocese. These are very exciting times in the Diocese of York as we seek to be Generous Churches Making and Nurturing Disciples. It is fantastic to be welcoming such gifted people to join with us in bringing the transforming presence of Jesus Christ throughout our Diocese.”

Among those ordained was Sarah Strand, who met her husband – a fellow curate - whilst pursuing her call to the church. She said, “I grew up in Tadcaster before moving to Cornwall for university, where I first received a call from God to ordination. Our Diocesan Director of Vocations, the Revd Dav Mann, wanted me to find out what life was like as a young, single trainee and find out a bit about life in theological college, so he gave me the number of someone else who was training to be a vicar. That person was Matt, my future husband!

“We kept in touch over Facebook and ended up bumping into each other again at a service in York Minster, and the rest is history. We got married at the end of my first year in theological college, three weeks after Matt was ordained deacon. We moved to Middlesbrough where Matt started his curacy at St Barnabas and I have been commuting to Cranmer for the last two years. We’re preparing ourselves at the moment for life as a clergy couple, although not at the same church – I’ll be working at St Peter and St Paul in Stokesley.”

Also ordained was Catherine Reid from Hull, who will become the curate of St Francis of Assisi in Ingleby Barwick. Before exploring ordination, Catherine studied for a doctorate in philosophy in Russia. She said, “I studied for my PhD in philosophy at St Petersburg State University. I specifically looked at the work of the Russian religious thinker, Nicolai Berdyaev, particularly his thought on the nature of human freedom. The city was beautiful and the Russians exceptionally welcoming. We really managed to create a sense of home there and every day carried some sense of adventure and interest. During my time there, my whole faith journey was also very much enriched by the experience I had of Russian Orthodoxy.

“I then returned to my university town of Hull and got stuck into city-centre ministry, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Myself, my husband Andrew, and our daughter Juliette are looking forward to moving and getting to know the people and parish of St Francis of Assisi in Ingleby Barwick, where I will serve as Assistant Curate. I’m particularly excited to experience God’s love at work in everyday life and in the life of our communities.”

The Ordinations service was the last Diocesan service for Lionel Lennox in his role as Diocesan Registrar. You can read more about Lionel's departure here.

The people ordained by the Archbishop and the parishes in which they will serve are:

To read more about the new Deacons, click here.