54 clergy have joined churches across the Diocese of London following their ordination to the office of Deacon this week.
Amongst the ordinands is former pub landlord, Eva Webb Sheen. Eva was landlord at Aragon House in Parsons Green until 2018, and through the Covid-19 pandemic reassessed her priorities and set out on the pathway to ordination.
Eva said:
“Having been a pub landlord for five years, it’s safe to say there’s not much that can shock me. The skills I learnt from behind the bar are just as useful in the pulpit. I hope my ordination can show people like me that anyone, no matter your background, can answer God’s call. As a working-class woman born and bred in Fulham, I never believed that I could be ordained – but I can testify that God has a plan for everyone.
“I am looking forward to planting our new church, engaging and connecting with the parish community, extending my role in our parish schools, being able to baptise, and to walking alongside people through some of the most important moments in their lives.”
The office of Deacon is often a step on the path towards priesthood and follows two to three years of training. The new Deacons will be working in churches across the Diocese, which covers Church of England churches north of the Thames, serving their local communities and undertaking public worship, teaching and pastoral work. After a period of around a year, a Deacon is often ordained to the priesthood.
This is the fifth successive year that the Diocese has welcomed over 40 new Deacons to London’s churches, with a total of 54 being ordained. The new Deacons will serve across 47 churches in the capital.
Also being ordained is Selwyn Cush-Etter, a primary school teacher who has run the London Marathon. He will be serving at St Luke’s Millwall.
Selwyn said:
“I feel very privileged to be serving my curacy in the London Diocese at St Luke’s Millwall. It is a diverse and multicultural area with people from many different backgrounds and cultures. God is already working in this area in people’s hearts and lives, and during my curacy I get the privilege to join in with what God is already doing.
“I am particularly looking forward to working closely with the local church school and building relationships with its families. As a Deacon, I hope to build relationships with the community, to find out what changes they would like to see in the local community, and to partner with them to make changes, or campaign for change to improve the local area for all. I also hope to work with other local faith groups, such as the local Mosque, to form relationships and get involved with what they are doing to serve the local community.”
The Bishop of London, the Right Revd Dame Sarah Mullally, said:
“It is an honour to welcome these 54 new ordinands, with all their unique gifts and talents, to the Diocese of London. God has called them to serve the rich tapestry of people who call London home, and it will be a joy to see how they progress in their ministry. I pray that they find this next chapter as fulfilling as I did during my years as a Deacon.”
