34 New Clergy Ordained in London

27/06/05

An international group of Deacons from all walks of life

A total of 34 new Deacons were ordained in the Diocese of London at the annual Ordination service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday 25 June, 5pm. The new Deacons, 11 women and 23 men, were ordained by the Rt Rev and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.

The new Deacons come from a wide range of backgrounds, from PR to radiography: George Pitcher is a former National Newspaper Industrial Journalist of the Year; Fiona Green worked in engineering before six months charity work in Russia; Peniel Rajkumar is a doctoral student, whose parents are travelling from India to attend his ordination service, and Tony Sheeran, is an insurance broker who met his wife while working in a wellington boot factory on a kibbutz in Israel.

The 2005 Deacons are also an international group: one was born in Fiji; two in Australia; there is one Russian; a Nigerian, a Texan and an African, all of whom will serve as curates in the Diocese of London.

After ordination the new deacons will go on to serve, typically, as curates for three years in London parishes. After the first year most will be ordained priest, except for the two Distinctive (Permanent) Deacons.

The Bishop of London says, “The ordination of so many very able men and women is a strong sign of the renewal of the Church in the Diocese of London. I thank God for this response to the challenge from London that we should express God’s love for all the citizens of this world city.”

A further 28 people, ordained Deacon last year, will be ordained Priest this Petertide.

The Church of England is growing rapidly in the Diocese of London. Electoral rolls show that church membership in the Diocese (15 London boroughs north of the Thames) has increased dramatically – from 45,000 in 1990 to 64,440 in 2004. The 34 new clergy will be a welcome addition to serve this growing community.

The New Deacons are:

Matthew Fuller, St Helen, Bishopsgate
John Hicks,The Grosvenor Chapel
George Pitcher, St Bride, Fleet Street
Reji Raj-Singh, St James, Paddington
Malcolm Doney, St George and All Saints, Tufnell Park
Sebastian Ejiaku, St John the Baptist, Hoxton
Daniel Gerrans, St Peter, de Beauvoir Town
Fiona Green, Christ Church, Highbury
Peniel Rajkumar, Upper Holloway Team Ministry
Karen Reeves, St Peter, de Beauvoir Town
Jason Rendell, Chaplain to the Bishop of Stepney
Antony Sheeran, St Jude and S Paul, Mildmay Grove
Susie Snyder, St Mary, Stoke Newington and St John, Brownwood Park
Andrew Emerton, Holy Trinity, Brompton
Malcom Macdonald, St Barnabas, Addison Road
Jon March, Holy Trinity, Brompton
Rosamond McDowell, Holy Innocents and St John the Evangelist, Hammersmith
Andrei Petrine, Holy Trinity, Hounslow
Andrew Sachs, St Saviour, Upper Sunbury
Matthew Stone, St Peter, Hammersmith
John Caster, St Alphage, Burnt Oak
Sarah Eynstone, St John at Hampstead
Derek Hyett, St Matthew, Ponders End and St Alphege, Edmonton
Andrew Newcombe, St Mary the Virgin, Tottenham
Desmond Banister, St Anselm, Hatch End
Debbie Chapman, St Mellitus, Hanwell
Michael del Rio, St Mary, Ealing
Bob Eckhard, St Paul, Ealing
Sarah Hobbs, St John with St James, West Ealing
Jane Hulme, St Paul, South Harrow
Elizabeth Moore-Bick, St John, Hillingdon
Julia Sheffield, St Matthew, Yiewsley
Susan Simpkins, St Martin, Ruislip
Rich Johnson, St Paul, Auckland

The New Priests are:

Richard Young, St James, Alperton
Robin Jones, Christ the Saviour, Ealing
William Van Der Hart, St Mary, Bryanston Sq with St Mark
Deiniol Kearley-Heywood, St John the Evangelist with St Michael and All Angels, Paddington
Jennie Hogan, St Stephen with St John, Rochester Row
Mark Kenny, St Paul, Covent Garden
Ian Mobsby, St Matthew, Westminister and Moot
Mark O’Donaghue, St Helen Bishopsgate
Martin Wroe, St Paul, Covent Garden
Ann Clarridge, St Stephen, Shepherds Bush
Michael Deed, St Clement w St Mark & Norlands St James
Jamie Haith, Holy Trinity, Brompton
John Teed, All Saints, Hanworth
George Wrigley, Holy Trinity w St Paul, Hounslow
Peter Bellenger, St Mark, Tollington Park
Rachma Bush, St Matthew w St James the Great, Bethnal Green
Sarah Alexander, Christ Church, Cockfosters
John Paul Aranzulla, St James w St Matthew, Muswell Hill
Susan Clifford, St Paul, Winchmore Hill
James Elston, Old St Pancras Team Ministry
Jackie Fish, St Mary Magdalene, Enfield Chase
Annette Fritze-Shanks, St Mary w All Souls, Kilburn
Michael Moseley, Jesus Church, Enfield
William Whitcombe, St John, Hendon
Valerie Aitken, St Mary w St Nicholas, Perivale
Linda Hillier, St Martin, West Drayton
Sylvia Lafford, St Edmund of Canterbury, Hayes
Mark McAulay, St Martin, Ruislip