Clergy given a huge welcome

A new team of clergy has been welcomed into the Deanery of Sharnbrook.
From left,  the Venerable Paul Hughes, Archdeacon of Bedfordshire, Rev Jacqueline Curtis, the Rt Rev Dr Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, Rev Peter Turnbull and Helen Nellis, HM Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire.From left,  the Venerable Paul Hughes, Archdeacon of Bedfordshire, Rev Jacqueline Curtis, the Rt Rev Dr Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, Rev Peter Turnbull and Helen Nellis, HM Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire.
From left, the Venerable Paul Hughes, Archdeacon of Bedfordshire, Rev Jacqueline Curtis, the Rt Rev Dr Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, Rev Peter Turnbull and Helen Nellis, HM Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire.

All Saints’ Church in Turvey was packed for a special service on Wednesday, October 12, to welcome the Rev Jacqueline Curtis and Rev Peter Turnbull as the Team Rector and Team Vicar who will serve the Chellington Team Ministry. Ordained in 1990 and 1991, Jacqueline and Peter bring with them a wide experience of parish and chaplaincy ministry, most recently in the Crosslacon Team Ministry in Cumbria.

The Chellington Team Ministry is a new venture which brings together eight rural churches - St Mary’s at Carlton, St Peter’s at Harrold, Harrold United Reformed Church, All Saints’ at Odell, St Mary the Virgin at Podington, St Lawrence at Wymington, St Mary the Virgin at Stevington and All Saints’ at Turvey.

In January the eight churches discussed how they could work together, sharing resources and helping one another in growing their ministry in their respective villages, and also looked for experienced clergy who would help them with the way forward.

The service of Institution by the Bishop of St Albans, the Right Rev Dr Alan Smith, and the Installation and Induction by the Archdeacon of Bedfordshire, the Venerable Paul Hughes, was moving and deeply symbolic, with solemn commitments made by the congregation as well as the two priests.

Helen Nellis, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, welcomed Jacqueline and Peter, along with representatives from Turvey Abbey, the Eastern Synod of the United Reformed Church, Emmaus Village Carlton, the Chellington Centre, head teachers and governors from local schools, parish council chairs and scout and brownie leaders.