Guildford Welcomes 31 New Deacons And Priests

Published on: 16 Aug, 2022
Updated on: 16 Aug, 2022

Former members of the Metropolitan Police and a married couple and those with a broken past were among the 16 deacons and 15 priests ordained at services at Guildford Cathedral on Saturday and Sunday, July 2 and 3.

15 of the new deacons and priests ordained at Guildford Cathedral in July 2022.

The Rt Revd Andrew Watson, Bishop of Guildford, and the Rt Revd Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking, conducted four ordination services. These were the first full capacity ordinations since 2019.

A spokesperson for the cathedral described the backgrounds of some of the latest church ministers.

Newly ordained Revd Dawn Lucas, who will be working at Holy Trinity, Knaphill, spent 20 years with the Met Police after completing a bible studies degree.

Working long hours and drinking heavily, Anne Ward, lost her husband at the age of 35. She spent six months in a downward spiral before attending an introductory Alpha course in 2008. Now the Revd Anne starts her training year at St Michael’s Camberley.

The Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, and the Bishop of Dorking, the Rt Revd Jo Bailey Wells, conducted four ordination services for the 31 candidates.

Married couple Tori and Bryan Silletti will work together at St Andrew’s Cobham. Bryan, an American, said: “God called me when I wasn’t paying attention”. Tori said that she’s felt she had been directed towards a clerical life for a number of years, adding: “I stand on the cusp of ordination, excited and nervous of all that is yet to come.”

There were meant to be 32 people ordained at the weekend but one of the candidates tested positive for Covid.

Guildford Diocese’s director of ordinands, Revd Craig Holmes, said: “It was a delight to see 31 women and men ordained into ministry in the Church, each one a reminder that God partners with ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.”

A spokesperson for the cathedral said: “Supported by family, friends and members of their congregations, Guildford’s new priests and deacons offer worldly experience to the communities they will serve across the diocese.”