The eight will be ordained Deacon by the Bishop of Carlisle, the Right Rev James Newcome. Covid restrictions mean a smaller affair than might otherwise have been expected, but each candidate will be able to have 10 family members and supporters attending on the day. The service at 2.30pm today (Saturday) will also be live streamed on both the Diocese of Carlisle and Carlisle Cathedral Facebook pages. The group includes four health care professionals, a data analyst expert, a BBC Radio Cumbria presenter, a church pioneer worker and a multi-linguist. Seven will be self-supporting ministers (unsalaried) whilst the eighth will serve as a stipendiary (salaried) curate.
Dear Next Generation: ‘It is love that is the flashlight that illuminates the path we should tread’
I am in my 76th year, married for 47 years to my soulmate, with two children, of whom I am immensely proud, and three beautiful grandchildren, all of whom live within walking distance of our home.
My formative years were spent in England, a country vividly displaying the physical and psychological effects of a world war. Deprivation and delayed gratification were common for all. No sugar, little meat, we used salt in our porridge; not much heat in the winter, judicious use of earnings. I used a slate for a couple of years at school before graduating to paper, pen, and inkwell. Underclothes were made of wool. My parents were people of faith and we all attended church weekly. There was no TV in England for most people till the ’50s, so outdoor sports and indoor games were the norm. My formative years were fleeting and I was hurled into a fast-changing world with one foot in the r