Kerry is to be ordained as a deacon on Sunday 2 July and will serve her curacy at St Stephen's Willenhall
I am Wolverhampton born and bred and love the social diversity that the city possesses.
Me and my husband Julian, who works for West Midlands Helicopter Policing, have been together for 32 years. We have a daughter who lives in Chester with her partner Jacob and two Yorkshire Terriers whose names are Albert and Joseph. Both my parents and parents-in-law are still alive and live in Wolverhampton. Sadly, my sister passed away in 2010 but I do have a wonderful sister-in-law, brother-in-law and two beautiful nieces.
I qualified as a paediatric nurse in 1995 and held various roles during my nursing career which was solely based within the Royal Wolverhampton Trust and spanned 31years. It was a wonderfully rewarding role and one which I consider having been a privilege.
I have attended church ever since my mom first took me and my sister to our local church when I was aged eight and I attended a Christian senior school. However, I never thought ordained ministry would be part of my life journey. Over many years my involvement in church life and ministry gradually increased. Much of my ministry has centred around children’s and youth work. I found a great deal of fulfilment in sowing the seeds of faith and the Gospel into the minds of children and young people and then seeing it grow in their hearts. It was during the time of my youth work and role in church leadership that I first felt the call to ordained ministry but life events seemed to get in the way of me responding to God’s call. After three years I had a definite nudge from God not to put the call off any longer and so with the support of my incumbent, family, and many friends I started the process which has brought me to where I am now.
I still have to pinch myself if I’m honest. Although I was highly educated in my nursing, academia isn’t something which comes naturally to me. It has been challenging but the support I’ve had from the tutors at Queen’s College and from fellow students has helped me through the tough moments. Starting at Queens in the middle of the covid pandemic certainly added to the challenges but the bond that developed very quickly amongst my cohort allowed us to support each other as a community together. God too was certainly there during the highs and the lows, cheering us on and hugging us when we needed it.
I’m not exactly sure where God is calling me to long term or where my ministry will take me. I thought my ministry would sit alongside my nursing work but I have since retired and so can now concentrate more on how and where God wants me to serve in the future. For now, I am excited to be serving my curacy at St Stephen’s where I know I will continue to grow and develop in my ministry.