The Archbishop of York will ordain twenty one people in York Minster on Sunday 5th July at 10am. Thirteen women and eight men will be made Deacons in the Church of England: the first time so many people have been ordained in the Diocese of York in the past seven years.
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said, “It’s heart-warming to see how many people God is calling to serve his church as ordained ministers. This extraordinary number of people coming forward for ordination shows that our churches are full of life and growth. I give thanks that these twenty one people will be serving churches and communities across the Diocese of York, and I invite you to join with me in praying for them as they begin their ministry among us”.
Among those being ordained is Dianne Gamble from Thirsk, who will become the first ordained woman to also drive steam locomotives. Dianne said, “For me steam locomotives have always been very spiritual to me as I can see the different ways God works in our lives reflected in the working of locos. I spent eighteen happy years working as an Explainer at the National Railway Museum, where I also successfully passed my test to drive steam locomotives. I’d been increasingly involved in the church in recent years, and I became a Reader in 2010.
“However, God had more in store for me. My call to ordination came after a visit to the place where Jesus was baptised on the River Jordan. Until just before our visit the site had been part of a militarised zone and so inaccessible to tourists. I spent time in prayer there, reflecting on how this was the starting point of Jesus' ministry and inviting God to start something new in me. The evening of the following day as I sat in the roof garden of our hotel, overlooking the walls of the city, I felt God say to me that now was the time to move into ordained ministry. I look forward to becoming the curate for the churches of Sowerby, Sessay, Bagby, Kilburn and Thirkleby.”
You can find out more about Dianne's story in this video, and in the Church of England podcast here.
Also being ordained is James Trowsdale from Burton Agnes, who will become the curate of eight churches around Burton Fleming. James said, “Our whole family is involved in serving the church, so it’s perhaps no surprise that God has called me to ordained ministry. My wife Gillian is churchwarden at St Andrews Weaverthorpe, and my sons George (24) and Jono (21) are Recognised Parish Assistants in the church. In addition, Jono was elected this year as a churchwarden alongside his mother. I also work part time as an employment adviser helping the Local Authority in Bridlington working with supporting disadvantaged families, and I am looking forward to serving eight village churches in the Bridlington area.”
Among the youngest of the people being ordained is Rob Suekarran, aged 30. He said, “As an ambitious seventeen year old with plans for studying medicine, my whole life would change forever when I discovered the Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time as becoming a Christian, I also sensed that God was calling me into ordained ministry. I went on to study Clinical Sciences at University and took tentative steps at looking into ordained ministry when I took a gap year after university, but I didn’t take it much further. I instead decided to teach, and it was while I was teaching that the sense of call intensified. To test the call I stopped teaching and became a Parish Assistant at my local church. However, I decided to go back into teaching and then, when becoming an ordained minister seemed beyond the realms of all possibility, God called me. I went on to complete theological training at Cranmer Hall in Durham and I am now looking forward to serving as a curate at St Mary’s Church, Strensall.”
The people being ordained and the parishes in which they will serve are:
Ellie Bangay, York Minster
Susan Binks, Kirkdale with Harome, Nunnington and Pockley
Simon Bray, Beverley, St Nicholas
Jane Brown, Bramham
Debbie Coyne, Rural East York
Maureen Desborough, Skirlaugh with Catwick, Long Riston, Rise and Swine
Glyn Diggins, Malton and Old Malton
Ali Doolan, Beverley, St Mary’s
Dianne Gamble, Sowerby, Sessay, Thirkleby, Kilburn and Bagby
Mary Jobling, Eastfield BMO
David Johnson, Monk Fryston and South Milford
Mel King, Brompton with Deighton and Rounton (West and East) with Welbury
Dotty Lambeth, Ricall, Barlby and Hemingbrough
Anthony Oram, Southcoates, St Aiden
Rob Suekarran, Strensall
Christine Strand, Bridlington, St Mary (also known as Bridlington Priory)
Catherine Toase, Easingwold with Raskelf
Glenda Webb, Brayton
Adam Wogan, Scarborough, St Martin and Scarborough, St Saviour with All Saints
Neil Woodhall, Selby, St Mary (also known as Selby Abbey)
James Trowsdale, Burton Fleming with Fordon, Grindale and Wold Newton and Rudston with Boynton, Carnaby and Kilham
There are short biographies of all the people being ordained here.
