Meet the new Curate
Hello, my name is Ross and if you want to know how to pronounce my surname properly, it rhymes with ‘treacle’. I am finishing my training in Durham before being ordained in Oxford to serve you as a curate. It will be a new part of the world for me as I am originally from Yorkshire, though I have never lost my Cambridgeshire accent from a 7-year stint there as a child. I also lived in Kenya for three years as a teenager due to my Dad following a call from God to work for Mission Aviation Fellowship. We returned to Northallerton in Yorkshire where I completed my A-levels. My first degree was at the University of York and was a brand new course titled Writing, Directing and Performance for Theatre, Film and Television. I have been interested in theatre and performance since my early teenage years.
However, my real passion is, and always has been, writing and dreaming up stories. Ever since I was a young child my vivid imagination has created fantastic worlds and weird characters. Through a friend at University, I began to read what I wrote in public at open mic nights, thus starting my vocation as a storyteller. This has become a key part of my understanding of my vocation and my ministry. It was through the writing of a play at University that I truly began to understand my faith, and it has been through my role as Resident Storyteller for a creative Christian collective in York since my student days that I began several creative writing projects related to matters of faith and Scripture. As a storyteller I am called to tell stories, and as an ordinandI look forward to telling God’s story.
My vocation to the priesthood in the Church of England was first raised when my mum sensibly suggested it. I was not attracted to the idea as an early teenager but as I have grown in faith and understanding it became apparent that this is where God is calling me. I worked for a church in London for a year as a pastoral assistant where I learned a lot about prayer and ministry in the Church before I began my training in Durham.
On a rainy day when I’m not working, I might be found watching television, playing Pokemon games, or going to the cinema. On a nicer day, I enjoy walks in the countryside, visiting nearby friends, and writing in coffee shops.
So as I prepare to move to Witney, I’m excited to walk in new landscapes and write new stories in new cafes. But most of all I am excited to serve God in Witney, sharing His story of hope and redemption and discovering more about priesthood, the Church, and myself along the way.
