Diocesan Press Release

Southwark's Petertide Ordinations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 18 June 1998

Six men and women are to be ordained deacon in Southwark Cathedral at the Petertide ordinations, Sunday June 28, and twelve others will be ordained priest in services elsewhere in the Diocese on the same day.

The Rt Rev Wilfred Wood, Bishop of Croydon and Commissary of Southwark Diocese, will ordain the following six people as deacons in Southwark Cathedral at 11.00 am on Sunday June 28. The Rev Canon Andrew Wingate, Principal of the College of the Ascension at Selly Oak, Birmingham, will preach at the ordination service.

Candidates for CROYDON EPISCOPAL AREA

David Mock, who will serve his curacy at: The Good Shepherd, Tadworth.

Ann Nickson, who will serve her curacy at: The Sanderstead Team Ministry.

Christine Spurway, who will serve her curacy at: St Andrew, Coulsdon.

Candidates for KINGSTON EPISCOPAL AREA

Ailsa Newby, who will serve her curacy at: Christ Church, Streatham.

Luis Rodriguez, who will serve his curacy at: Christ Church, Battersea.

Candidates for WOOLWICH EPISCOPAL AREA

Maria Reeves, who will serve her curacy at: St Mary, Newington.

CROYDON EPISCOPAL AREA

In Croydon Parish Church, at 6 pm, the Rt Rev Wilfred Wood, Bishop of Croydon, will ordain the following as priests. The preacher will be the Rev Prebendary John Gaskell, formerly Vicar of St Alban's Holborn.

Jane Banister, who is serving her curacy at: St Mary Addington.

Ann Heffernan , who is serving her curacy at: St Peter Limpsfield.

Stefanie Hodges, who is serving her curacy at: Christ Church West Croydon

Richard Williams, who is serving his curacy at: Holy Trinity Wallington

Jennifer Zarek, who is serving her curacy at: St Mary Caterham

KINGSTON EPISCOPAL AREA

In St John's Church, Waterloo, at 6.30 pm, the Rt Rev Peter Price, Bishop of Kingston, will ordain the following as priests. The preacher will be Ms Rosemary Tucker, Leader of the Training in World Mission Team at the USPG (United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel).

Michael Gilbertson, who is serving his curacy at: St Matthew Surbiton.

Mark Nichols, who is serving his curacy at: The Ascension Balham Hill.

Annabel Shilson-Thomas, who is serving her curacy at: All Saints Kingston.

Nigel Wilson-Brown, who is serving his curacy at: Emmanuel Wimbledon.

Sister Valerie Pearce, a member of the Community of the Sisters of the Church, Ham Common.

WOOLWICH EPISCOPAL AREA

In All Saints' Church, Hatcham Park, at 6.30 pm, the Rt Rev Colin Buchanan, Bishop of Woolwich, will ordain the following as priests. The preacher will be the Rev Canon Richard Buck, formerly Assistant Priest at St Alfege, Greenwich.

Brenda Hopkins, who is serving her curacy at: St George Camberwell.

Henry Hull, who is serving his curacy at: The Kidbrooke Team Ministry.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Those to be ordained deacon in Southwark Cathedral, June 28:

David Mock, 33, is married to Ruth; they have a son aged two, and they are expecting a second child in November. David is an American citizen who grew up in Oregon and attended university in the State of Washington. On an exchange scheme with the University of York, he met Ruth, and when they decided to marry he settled in this country. Before training for ordination at Trinity College Bristol he was a Direct Marketing Manager with the organisation Save the Children, and he and Ruth worshipped at Emmanuel South Croydon.

Ann Nickson, 40, read Law at Cambridge University, and became a partner in a firm of solicitors in Bromley. For several years she worshipped at St Mark's Kennington, where she was a Churchwarden and was also Lay Chair of the Lambeth Deanery Synod. She has spent five years at Ridley Hall Cambridge, where besides training for ordination she obtained a first class honours degree in Theology, and worked towards a PhD, researching the theology and spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Christine Spurway, 44, has a young son Daniel. She worked as a diplomat in Zimbabwe, before returning to this country to be a personnel officer in the Department of Trade and Industry. She lived at Wimbledon and worshipped at St Mary's Merton. She has trained for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon.

Ailsa Newby, 42, is married to Dick; they have two sons aged thirteen and eleven. After several years as a solicitor in the City of London Ailsa worked as a legal consultant for the organisation 'Justice'. She trained for ordination at St Stephen's House Oxford. Her husband, who is a freelance political consultant, was made a Life Peer after the last General Election, and holds the Liberal Democrat whip in the House of Lords.

Luis Rodriguez, 34, was born in Cuba, but spent most of his life in California. He has a degree in History from the California State University in Los Angeles, and taught for a number of years in the States before coming to this country in 1993 to take up a post at the American Community School in West London. He remains an American citizen, but hopes to live here permanently. He worshipped at St Mary's Newington, and trained for ordination at St Stephen's House Oxford.

Maria Reeves, 25, has a degree in Theological Studies from the University of Leeds, and she spent a year as a Chaplain's Assistant at St Christopher's Hospice Sydenham before training for ordination at St Stephen's House Oxford. Her home parish before going to theological college was St Philip's Sydenham.

Those to be ordained priest in other churches, June 28:

Jane Banister, 30, is the daughter of a priest in St Albans Diocese. She has a degree in History from Manchester University, and she also gained a Theology degree at Cambridge while training for ordination at Westcott House. Before embarking on this training she worked as the Personal Assistant to the Rector of St Bride's Fleet Street.

Anna Heffernan, 32, is married to Bill; they have three young children. Anna trained for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon, and before that did part-time work in a nursery group in Purley. Her training and her year as a deacon brought a partial 'role reversal' in her marriage, with Bill undertaking most of the responsibility for running the home and looking after the children. Bill, a computer software designer and engineer, has cut his working hours to three days a week.

Stefanie Hodges, 43, has two grown-up children. She trained for ordination at Trinity College Bristol. Before that she was a classroom assistant in a primary school in West Dulwich, where she worked with children with special education needs.

Richard Williams, 35, is married to Anna; they have two small daughters and a baby son. He was a Business Development Manager for BUPA Health Services, having earlier had a number of posts in the merchant banking world. He trained for ordination at Wycliffe Hall Oxford.

Jennifer (Jenny) Zarek, 47, has a Cambridge University degree in Physics, and a PhD in Acoustics and Sound Absorption from Southampton University. She also read for a Theology degree while training for ordination at St Stephen's House Oxford. She was previously a Principal Lecturer in the Communications and Music Technology Department of London University. She is a specialist member of the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches.

Michael Gilbertson , 36, is married to Jenny; they have two sons, aged four and fifteen months. Michael was a civil servant in the Department of Trade and Industry before training for ordination at Cranmer Hall Durham. He has a first-class honours degree in Modern History from Oxford, and gained a further first-class honours in Theology and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Durham. Jenny is a solicitor and hopes to resume professional work when their children are older; Michael hopes one day to enter the world of theological teaching.

Mark Nichols, 29, is married to Thérèse. He worked for British Gas as a maintenance engineer before training for ordination at Ridley Hall Cambridge. He has a degree in Theology and Pastoral Studies from the London Bible College. Thérèse is a partner in a firm of solicitors in Kingston.

Annabel Shilson-Thomas, 38, is married to Hugh, who is Chaplain to the University of Kingston. They have a young son and are expecting another child shortly. She and Hugh trained together for ordination at Westcott House Cambridge, and they were both ordained deacon in 1989. Annabel was not ordained priest earlier, but recently resumed her ministry in a non-stipendiary capacity, combining this with her role as a mother and with part-time work as a writer and publisher's assistant.

Nigel Wilson-Brown, 33, is married to Susanna (Zanna); they have two young sons and a baby daughter. He has a degree in Psychology from the University of London. Before training for ordination at Wycliffe Hall Oxford he spent the whole of his working life with Procter and Gamble, rising through sales, training and recruiting to a senior post in personnel management.

Sister Valerie Pearce , CSC, 52, has been a professed member of the Community of the Sisters of the Church since 1971. She has worked in the Community's houses in Belfast, Broadstairs and Bristol, and since 1995 has been at Ham Common, where she is Sister-in-Charge of the house as well as Assistant to the Mother Provincial.

Brenda Hopkins, 35, has a degree in Christian Ministry from the University of Lancaster. Before training for ordination at Westcott House Cambridge she worked in the distribution industry, her last job being with a library supply company.

Henry Hull, 42, is married to Geraldine (Gerry); they have four children aged nine to sixteen. Henry has a degree in Theology from the Queen's University of Belfast. He worked for the Bible Reading Fellowship, then for the Council for Christian Unity of the General Synod of the Church of England. He trained for ordination on the North Thames Ministerial Training Course.

Ends.