On Sunday 2nd July new deacons will be ordained at Coventry Cathedral by The Bishop of Warwick, the Right Reverend John Stroyan. The new deacons have undertaken a course of study and training, and following their ordination they will serve as curates (assistant ministers) while their training continues.
Matthew Arnold
Matthew will be a deacon in the Edgehill Benefice, comprising six parishes in the south east of the diocese including Kineton. He grew up near St. Albans moving to the small village of Butlers Marston in 2008 owing to his work, at that time, at Land Rover, Gaydon. Matthew is married to Lynn, concert pianist and teacher; they have both enormously enjoyed settling into rural life in community here in the midlands. Matthew and Lynn continue learning as parents after the arrival of their first child, Clement in August 2021.
Matthew left his role in service engineering at Jaguar Land Rover to read theology at Wycliffe Hall College, Oxford. Having treasured his study, development and friends made there, he is now looking forward immensely to spending time away from the library and joining in with the work and ministry of the gospel with the team and churches of Edgehill.
Matthew was brought up appreciating classic cars and remains fascinated by old mechanical and electrical engineering and the restoration work of such things; he is delighted that Clement is developing a love of trains and buses! He enjoys all sorts of music genres, attending classical music concerts especially. Matthew wouldn’t describe himself as a very accomplished gardener, but nevertheless enjoys being outdoors, tending plants and growing veg.
Dee Badland
Dee will be a deacon at All Saints church in Bedworth
She has been married to Ken for nearly 40 years and they have four children. She has a beautiful fox red Labrador called Sally and she enjoys reading, crocheting, and all of nature - from animal wildlife to the smallest wild flower all creation is important to her.
Dee came to faith over 30 years ago when someone prayed for her on the street and invited her on an Alpha course, where she fell in love with the Lord. Despite the efforts of the enemy to hold her back God's love prevailed and has been with her ever since.
Dee was diagnosed with MS at age 17 and been in a wheelchair for many years, however this does not hold her back and has only proved to make her faith grow stronger. Jesus never said life would be easy he just promised to be with us on the journey.
Dee looks back on her life and the many challenges she has faced and she realises that the Lord was with her even when she wasn’t aware he was there and it is now in his strength and his guiding hand that she is answering his call to ordained ministry.
April Gold
April will be a deacon in Hillmorton Rugby whilst continuing her role as Diocesan Director of Education. April discerns her call as being priest in place for church schools across the diocese, inspiring headteachers and governors to share the love of Christ whilst they educate for life in all its fullness. She sees church schools as communities of salt and light, planted in their parishes to live distinctively as they share the good news and encourage the next generation of children to live kingdom lives. April is married to Steve, with whom she will serve to minister to the growing community of Houlton through St Gabriel’s Church which meets in St Gabriel’s CofE Academy. April and Steve have two adult children, whom they love to visit, and enjoy spending time in their caravan.
Robin Griffiths
Robin will be a deacon at Bulkington. His journey to ordination has been a truly significant part of his life. Robin found faith in his late 20’s. He was a staunch atheist, doing his best to enjoy life, or at least, that’s what it might have looked like from the outside. Through the encouragement and support of a local priest who is now a dear friend, Robin found the undeniable love of God in his life. It gave him happiness and a sense of belonging so profound it blew his mind. As his faith grew, so did his eagerness to share this life-changing experience with as many people as possible. During these first few years, he was encouraged to listen to the calling so many people could see on his life.
Robin has a particular heart for hospitality ministry, which he sees as sharing and showing God’s love to the world through warm welcome, food, drinks, fun, and friendship. He is incredibly interested in church rejuvenation and growth and holds the Eucharist at a central place in his faith. He also feels particularly called to people on the margins and genuinely believe God wants people like him, who have been in dark and dreary places, to show others in that same current space that there is light and love and a way to live that is different to what they know.
During his curacy, Robin hopes to learn from the experiences of everyone he encounters and, with God’s grace, positively impact the communities he is a part of.
Joshua Grimwood
Josh will be a deacon at St James Styvechale. He trained at Trinity College Bristol for the past two years. Before discerning a call to ordained ministry, he served as a youth worker for Walsgrave Baptist Church and studied for a BA in Theology at Moorlands College. He is passionate about seeing people deepen in discipleship and the love of God and is particularly interested in all age worship and discipleship.
Josh first experienced the call to ordination when he left school and heard an audible voice telling him to be a vicar. Since then, God has been faithful at helping him to enter into that calling and he is sure that God will equip him for his new role as an ordained minister. Please pray for Josh as he moves, for his incumbent, also called Josh, and the people of St James as they prepare to welcome him.
Emma Harrington
Emma will be a deacon in the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon. She trained for ordination via the part-time pathway at St Mellitus, East Midlands. Originally from Leicestershire, Emma first moved to Coventry as a student at Warwick University and then pursued a professional career in corporate sales and marketing before moving to the international development sector. Most recently, Emma was the project manager for the Diocese of Coventry’s programme for establishing new worshipping communities. Her call to ordination came as she embarked upon a career break and felt a persistent prompting to explore ordained ministry which would not go away. For the past two years she has been serving at St Peter’s, Hillfields where she has been involved in helping to rebuild community activities post-lockdown. She has also had the privilege of being a chaplaincy volunteer at University Hospital. Emma takes great joy from the breadth of spiritual traditions in the Church of England and is excited to be involved in making these accessible and welcoming for everyone so that people can encounter God’s love for themselves.
Emma would welcome your prayers as she and her family relocate to Stratford-upon-Avon and get to know the community there.
Rebecca Henney
Becca will be a deacon at St Laurence, Foleshill. She is passionate about prayer and worship. She loves approaching both of these from a creative perspective, seeing people discover their own personal relationship with Jesus in a myriad of different ways. She is fascinated by hearing people’s personal stories, in particular helping people identify where God is at work in their lives already, and how they encounter God on a day to day basis. After a career in politics and community activism, which she very much considered vocational in nature, Becca is looking forward to the next step in her journey - entering into parish ministry. She is hopeful that she can combine her love for Jesus with her desire for social justice in a more public way than before. She is absolutely convinced that the love of God is for absolutely everyone and has a desire to see this reflected in communities which are often overlooked or marginalised.
Mum to three wonderful children, and wife to James, she is great at cooking pizza and not good at cooking pretty much anything else. She loves reading novels to relax and in her free time can often be found wondering around the countryside – especially if a picnic is involved.
Julie Lindsay
Julie will be a deacon at Alcester Minster Churches in the south of the diocese. She has served in central government as a civil servant for nearly 40 years and is currently a chief operating officer in the Ministry of Justice. Julie has also been a licensed Lay Reader for 30 years, having trained in Lichfield Diocese as she is originally from Wolverhampton. She has been training at Queens in Birmingham and has loved the rich diversity of training alongside Methodist colleagues and those studying in the Centre for Black Theology. She is married to Andrew and they have two cats, Dylan and Gawain who are very loved and spoiled. Alcester Minster is the Rural Hub in the diocese’s growth strategy. Julie is particularly passionate about being part of this work and very excited to see and be involved in what God is doing in building his kingdom in this semi-rural part of the diocese.
Helen Merrigan
Helen will be a deacon at St John's, Hillmorton in Rugby.
Helen had been confessing to God that it seemed a long time since she had to really step out in faith (dangerous prayer!). A few days later she heard an advert on Premier Christian Radio for the Caleb course – it seemed as if God was saying ‘that’s for you’. She checked out the information online and sent an email to enquire. The response was very positive and over the summer the Bishops agreed to allow Helen to be one of two from our diocese to pilot this route to potential ordination.
The Caleb Stream is for those who have had a long history of ministering within the church and who are retired or nearing retirement. It is a one year programme where discernment takes place alongside a year’s training (part-time) at St Mellitus Theological College.
It has been a very hectic, challenging but exciting year for Helen to say the least – working full time, going through the whole diocesan discernment process alonside the college course and work involved with that.
‘Calebs’ usually stay in the church they have come from and work as an associate minister after curacy. Helen is part of the community worshipping at St John’s Hillmorton in Rugby. She is married to John and they have two wonderful adult sons and a daughter-in-law. She works as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in a local GP surgery where she has been for 30 years!
To relax / be restored Helen loves to walk on our beautiful coastal paths and countryside, sharing meals, reading, music and baking.
Cerys Smith
Cerys will be a deacon at St Mary Magdalene's, Lillington. Cerys was born in Cumbria but has grown up and lived in Solihull and Birmingham for most of her life, studying at both Aston University and the University of Birmingham. Cerys was baptised and brought up in the Church of England and is a lifelong Christian, having always attended and supported her local parish church. Cerys has always felt a call to help people in need, particularly after spending three months in Rwanda through a church link. This experience challenged and inspired her faith and led her to work as an administrator and project officer for various UK charities as well as studying for an MA in international post conflict security and development. Just prior to ordination training, Cerys was the Ministerial Development Administrator for Coventry Diocese. Cerys moved to Coventry to be an intern in the Reconciliation Ministry at Coventry Cathedral where she discerned God’s call to a priestly ministry in peace and reconciliation. She has been training for ordination at Cranmer Hall in Durham. Cerys is also a trained mediator and has delivered reconciliation training in the diocese, here in the UK, and abroad. Cerys is looking forward to joining and becoming part of the community of the parish of St Mary Magdalene's. She hopes to learn and grow but also to bring her skills and energies to serve God and them faithfully and well.
Helen Smith
Helen will be a deacon at St Peter’s Wellesbourne and St James’ Walton d’Eivile. For over twenty years Helen has taught music and singing in schools throughout the West Midlands, and has conducted children’s and adult choirs. Through her musical skills she became part of the worship team at St Peter’s after moving to Wellesbourne 5 years ago, and gradually began preaching and leading services. As her involvement in the church increased, God’s calling on her life became clearer, eventually becoming impossible to ignore. Helen studied part-time for ordained ministry at Ripon College Cuddesdon, where she has found a passion for eco-theology, discerning the church’s part in caring for God’s creation; she is looking forward to seeing how this might be actively lived out in the parishes where she will serve. Helen is also excited at the prospect of the challenge of drawing church and community together, helping the gospel light to shine brightly in the two villages.
Helen is married to Jason and they have a son, Edward, who will have to put up with his mum coming into his school to do assemblies! Please pray for the family, and for the two communities, as Helen begins her ministry.