Ordinands who have prayerfully explored their vocation, deepened their spiritual study, and carried out Christ-like acts of compassionate service in their communities, will soon be ordained priests or deacons. This sacred and personal act of commitment will take place on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June at Lincoln Cathedral.
Since first hearing His call, our ordinands have leaned into God’s embrace, offering their lives to carry out His will.
Every journey to ordination is unique. In these short biographies, the ordinands for 2025 introduce themselves and share a glimpse of how God has guided them on this path. They have been called to serve God’s people, to share the Good News, and to build up the Church in unity, truth and love.
We are blessed by their obedience in being consecrated (or, in other words, set apart) for this ministry, shining their light for all to see and revealing the Christ who loves and cares for us through their thoughts, words and actions. Congratulations to all those being ordained!
I’ve lived and worked in Lincoln since 2017. I’m originally from the North Norfolk Coast, where I met my now husband Jonny and we have two children, Jonah and Pearl.
My journey to ordination has been a long one, but my learning and understanding of God is all the richer for it. I now love coming alongside people and helping them explore what God is asking them to do with their lives. It’s not an easy call!
When I’m not chatting about Jesus and drinking coffee, I love wild swimming in any water I can get, and I’m a big fan of dying my hair any colour I fancy. My hope is that with any other person I meet or work with, we can, together, discover the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and communities.
Isaac was born in Kettering and grew up in the hinterland of South Leicestershire, North Northamptonshire and Rutland. After being baptised in the River Welland aged 19 and completing his undergraduate education, he moved to Oxford and worked for Church Mission Society (CMS) for four years.
After meeting and marrying his wife Jenny at Pusey House (also being ordained deacon), they moved to Durham for further study and ordination training. Isaac was introduced to the riches of the Catholic tradition of the Church of England at Pusey House and began discerning his vocation to priesthood at this time. He had an especially sharp sense of this call to service of God’s people and God’s creation when ministering the cup at a CMS conference for mission partners on furlough.
Aside from delighting in the Spirit of God, Isaac expresses his fidelity to the other ‘spirit’ by keeping a well-stocked selection of whisky. He is often found walking his and Jenny’s giant dog Xanthias, or finding a pleasant spot to sit with a book in hand.
I was born in Kenya but spent most of my childhood in Northern Ireland, close to the sea; a place that gave me a love of open spaces and quiet reflection.
My time in the RAF gave me a strong foundation in leadership, pastoral care, and community-building, and those experiences continue to shape my ministry today. I’ve also trained in bereavement care, counselling, and pastoral listening, and I am deeply committed to creating spaces where people feel heard, valued, and spiritually nurtured.
I now work as a mathematics tutor, specialising in supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and have completed a doctorate focused on supporting neurodiverse students. Outside of ministry, I hold black belts in several martial arts and teach or oversee classes in a variety of places. I’m married with two adult children, and I love walking the dog, keeping active, and spending time outdoors.
My call to ordination has grown steadily over the years, shaped by a deep desire to walk alongside others in faith and life. As I step into ordained ministry, I feel a deep sense of peace and purpose. I don’t know exactly where God will lead me, but I hope to continue combining my love of teaching, working with children, and serving the Church in whatever way He calls.
Jenny is originally from New Zealand and the USA, and spent most of her childhood and teens in East Asia where her parents worked in public health.
Her early faith was shaped by growing up cross-culturally within a charismatic Christian community with a strong ethic of service. Since her university days, Jenny’s adult faith has been influenced by involvement with Anglican chaplaincies and churches in New Zealand, the US and the UK, where she encountered the Eucharist in a new way and began to swim in the deep waters of the church’s sacramental and liturgical life.
She surprised herself by discerning a vocation to priesthood during her PhD at the University of Warwick, rather ironically prompted by atheist friends and deepened at Pusey House in Oxford.
Prior to ordination training, Jenny was a university lecturer in public law and human rights, where her research focused on extractive industries in Mongolia. She now enjoys researching and writing at the intersection of law and theology, and occasionally makes an appearance on Radio 2’s Pause for Thought programme.
After years of moving and travelling, Jenny now finds great delight in quieter pastimes like gardening, reading fiction and theology, laughing at the antics of her two daughters and watching British comedies with her husband Isaac.
She can’t wait to learn the rhythms of parish life at All Saints’ in Stamford and work alongside Fr Neil and the team there.
I’m 46 and have always seen myself as a bit of a gypsy at heart. Life has taken me on quite a journey—starting in Cambridgeshire, moving through Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and eventually finding my home by the sea in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.
My faith journey began about ten years ago when I walked into St John and St Stephen’s Church in Grimsby looking for a wedding venue… and never left! What started as a practical visit became something much more meaningful, and now I’m on the path to being ordained as a permanent Deacon.
I currently work for a charity that supports vulnerable women, and once ordained, I hope to expand that work into reaching even more marginalised groups within our communities. I have a real heart for those on the edges—people who often feel forgotten or unheard.
When I’m not working or involved in church life, you’ll usually find me at the gym, out walking—especially if there are woods involved—or volunteering as a welfare ship visitor with the Mission to Seafarers. I love connecting with people from all walks of life and hearing their stories.
It’s been a winding road to get here, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Every step has brought me closer to who I’m meant to be—and to where I’m meant to serve.
I was bought up in Eastleigh Hampshire, which is where my faith journey begun. My faith journey has had its ups and downs as life impacted this journey. I moved to Lincolnshire in 1999 where I slowly became incorporated into the local church.
It was taking part in an MSM course that my journey suddenly took a leap, and I found myself being pulled out from the back seat to being at the front leading All Age Services (as they were called) by God.
With the loving support of my husband, children and my local church, I found myself discerning a new pathway from a job as a Dispensing Optician for 30 years and to a life in following the path of Jesus Christ knowing and trusting in Him to lead me in the work He has planned for me.
On paper this sounds easy, but it has been quite a journey with some steep hills in learning and test of faith.
I love walking and when ordained as a Deacon we got a puppy, who now is a very energetic lovable crazy Red Fox Labrador who drags me out for walks at times when sleep might be preferable. I wouldn’t swap him for the world though, he has ears to listen to me chattering away and always shows me love and the rest of the family love.
So now my future is in God’s hands.
Please keep those who will be ordained in your prayers, together with their families and those communities in the diocese within which they are called to serve.
You can learn more about ordination on the Church of England website.
God is always calling people to serve him. If you sense a call to ministry or a particular vocation in your life, you can explore where it may lead in our diocese.
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