Two Brighton and Hove women to be ordained today

Two women from Brighton and Hove are being ordained as ministers in the Church of England today (Saturday 28 June).

Alice Whalley and Kate Lawson are among 17 people becoming deacons in a ceremony at Chichester Cathedral this afternoon at 4pm.

Alice Whalley, 26, will serve as a curate at St Andrew’s Church in Moulsecoomb.

She is originally from Scotland. Her father was in the Navy so she spent her primary school years living in several places following his jobs around before settling in mid Wales where she went to secondary school.

Alice Whalley

She said: “I escaped to the bright lights of London to study for a degree in astrophysics, after which I somewhat unexpectedly ended up spending two years working in a large parish in Camden Town.

“At the beginning, I thought the job might be a nice way to fill a gap but I quickly decided through my deepening faith and profound encounters that I might be called to ordination.”

She has spent the past three years training at St Stephen’s House in Oxford and said: “I am looking forward immensely to beginning my ministry in the diocese and to be doing so in such an exciting part of Brighton.”

Kate Lawson will serve as a curate at All Saints in Hove. She has been worshipping at St George’s Church in Brighton for the past ten years and her husband John sings in the choir.

She was brought up in the Christian faith but on leaving home to study she did not attend church regularly for years and came to a personal faith in Jesus in her early forties.

She said: “I have experienced a growing sense of calling to ordained ministry since then but managed initially to convince myself that as a single mum it could not be happening.

“After John and I married, I began taking on every possible lay role at St George’s, hoping that would suffice.

“Obviously God had other ideas. I remained in employment for the majority of my training at SEITE (the South East Institute of Theological Education), retiring last Christmas from the NHS, having worked in public health for nearly 40 years.

“I have found the training very stimulating but also challenging.

“I am very much looking forward to beginning this exciting new chapter, joining All Saints in Hove and having the opportunity to work with and learn from everyone there as we seek to follow God and share the Gospel together.”

The Bishop of Chichester Dr Martin Warner said: “Ordinations are great moments of celebration and renewal for the Church.

“Increasingly, they also provide us with a rare and precious opportunity to engage with people who have no experience of Christian faith or worship but who are present as friends and family of candidates.

“Celebrating the ordination of women and men within the diocese of Chichester is just another expression of the Church of England’s commitment to valuing the rich diversity of all its traditions in the present generation.”

In the past fortnight two Brighton men were ordained as priests in the diocese of Chichester – Mischa Richards and Alex Wood.

Mr Richards will serve at St Martin’s Church in Brighton and Mr Wood at St Peter’s near by.