I moved up to Bradford from the Midlands in June 2014. My husband, Ian, became the Incumbent of Holy Trinity, Low Moor, and St Andrew’s, Oakenshaw. We have two children who are studying at university. When we arrived in Bradford, I went on placement as an ordinand to St Paul’s, Manningham, and I have never looked back. I was ordained deacon in July 2015, and I was made a priest in July 2016. I have been the Assistant Curate, now to the new parish of Girlington, Heaton, and Manningham, since then.
As the pastoral focus for St Paul’s, much of my week is spent there: it is a place I love to be. Throughout the week there are many who walk through its doors. The church has a truly international flavour, with people coming to it from Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Congo, Nigeria, Slovakia, and, of course, Great Britain.
I am passionate that people not only meet Jesus, but grow in their faith as his disciples. The challenges of discipleship both on a Sunday, and throughout the week are enormous, but incredibly exciting and rewarding. I am loving discovering ways of enabling such a disparate group of people to become one church. A church that richly reflects the Kingdom of God.
Recently, I have been involved in the establishing of a Missional Community linked with St Paul’s. Integral to its vision is a diverse group of people living well together as Christians in a Muslim majority area.
God wastes nothing. My past life of working as a community physiotherapist in inner city Birmingham, and living for two years in Nigeria, has proved invaluable in meeting the challenges of church in Girlington, Heaton, and Manningham.