Ordinations in Oldham set to be livestreamed

Thirteen new curates will be ordained deacon by the Bishops of Manchester, Middleton and Bolton tomorrow (Wednesday).

Two services will take place at each of Oldham Parish Church, Manchester Cathedral and Bolton Parish Church to ensure that small groups of candidates can be ordained safely and in accord with the government’s current social distancing guidelines.

The ordinations, originally scheduled to take place last June, were postponed because of coronavirus.

The 13 candidates are now preparing for the special services and, as newly ordained clergy, will then go on to serve in parishes around Greater Manchester.

Each of the six ordination services will be livestreamed on Facebook to enable friends, family and supporters who would normally be present at the services to observe and join in from a distance. 

Clergy will also be sharing photographs after the services on social media using the hashtag #NewRevs

The Bishop of Manchester, The Rt Revd Dr David Walker, said: “It is an enormous privilege for me to ordain our new deacons as they embark on this new stage of their ministry to our churches across Manchester and beyond.

"It has been a difficult time for the candidates as they faced uncertainty about when the services could safely go ahead, but we are delighted that they will now be ordained and licensed as deacons in the diocese.

“They have already been working in their training parishes since June and adapting their ministry to suit the unprecedented circumstances we are facing.

"It has been inspiring to be part of their journey towards this great day, and we look forward to celebrating with them as they prepare to serve in our diverse communities.”

Among the new clergy to be ordained this week are Scott Richardson, who will be based at Newchurch, Adele Bridle, who will be at Middleton and Thornham, and Farid Yasini from St Aphrahat the Persian Sage church.

Scott's life was at a crossroads four years ago when he walked into a church to ask to be baptised so he could start life anew.

That moment was the beginning of a journey that sees him ordained deacon at Oldham Parish Church.

Scott (pictured above) said: "I had reached a point in my life when I just felt there had to be something more.

"My marriage wasn’t going well, I was stuck in my job, my best friend was dying of cancer, and I was conscious I might end up having to run his business for him.

"These things propelled me to a desire to be baptised and start anew, washed and cleansed of the person I didn’t want to be.

"Through my baptism preparation my passion for the power of scripture was noticed by my vicar and he discerned in me a definite aptitude for ministry.”

Adele will also be ordained at Oldham Parish Church.

A northern girl, she has been training full time in Bristol and says it feels good to be home in Manchester.

"I am looking forward to just getting stuck into full time practical ministry," she said.

"This first year is going to look quite different to what a normal first year of curacy would look like, but I’m excited because there are so many opportunities to think outside the box in parish ministry, in this strange pandemic season.

"I pray that out of this difficult season, people in our community will come to know Jesus."

Each of the ordination services from all three venues will be livestreamed so that guests who cannot attend in person can view the whole service live.

The Oldham service can be accessed through the following link on the day via Facebook (you don’t need to have a Facebook account to view them; just click the link:

Oldham Parish Church (services at 11am and 3pm): https://www.facebook.com/OldhamParishChurch/

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