It is with great Joy that we will be welcoming Lorna Hasell to the Clergy team in the Alfred Jewel Benefice. Lorna will be known to many of you in our churches and community as she has lived and worshiped here for a long time. Lorna will be Ordained Deacon on the 29th June at Wells Cathedral.
I am excited to have Lorna joining us, bringing a love of rural ministry and worship, I have always enjoyed an expression of church outside church but Lorna with her gifts and enthusiasm I know will help us to elevate far beyond that.
I asked Lorna to give us a flavour of who she is, and this is what Lorna wrote:
I’ve lived in Somerset from the age of seven and have always been rooted in the countryside.
My careers before retirement were in NHS science labs, and then in Education (with a gap year between spent learning about and climbing trees!)
Sixteen years ago, Steve and I moved to Adsborough and became part of the lovely church family at St Giles, Thurloxton. We soon fell in love with this place and this rural community.
My faith is an unbroken thread running through life from its earliest days – days spent outside in the gardens, fields, and woodlands where I grew up, the daughter of a gardener, on some beautiful country estates. Here I felt that ‘longing and belonging’ to God who is both transcendent and close at hand. A faith nurtured by my mum, with her own simple gratitude to God – and always directed to GIVE GOD THE GLORY.
The call to ordained ministry has evolved through a lifetime’s journey – a journey with many times of joy, and sometimes of darkness.
I am really excited to begin this new phase of the journey as a curate in the Alfred Jewel Benefice. I look forward to learning, to building new relationships, and to helping serve all the people in our wonderful communities.
I thought it might be worth me trying to explain what a Deacon and Curate actually mean.
What is a Deacon?
In the Church of England, a Deacon is someone ordained to a ministry of service, proclamation, and compassion. It’s often the first step in ordained ministry, typically lasting a year before priesting.
As a Deacon in our churches Lorna will:
- Assists in worship, especially at the Eucharist (e.g. reading the Gospel, preparing the table, dismissing the congregation).
- Preaches and leads intercessions.
- Brings the needs of the world before the Church in prayer.
In the Community, a deacon:
- Acts as a bridge between the Church and the world.
- Serves the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the forgotten.
- Listens deeply and brings back the hopes and hurts of the community to the Church’s heart.
As the Ordinal puts it: “They are to proclaim the gospel in word and deed, as agents of God’s purposes of love.”
What is a Curate?
A Curate is a newly ordained minister, either a deacon or priest, serving in their first post after ordination. It’s a bit like an apprenticeship, usually lasting 3–4 years, under the guidance of a training incumbent.
In the Church, a curate:
- Leads services, preaches, and offers pastoral care.
- Learns the rhythms of parish life and grows into their priestly identity. In the Community, a curate:
- Builds relationships with schools, local groups, and individuals.
- Learns how to be a visible, approachable presence of Christ in everyday life.
It’s a time of formation, reflection, and deepening vocation.
I hope that gives people a flavour of what it means to be a Deacon and a Curate, If you have ever felt a call to serve in any capacity within church then please do come and speak to me.
And finally and importantly, as it is only 10 days until Ordination I ask that we all hold Lorna and Steve in our prayers.
Gracious God,
We thank You for Lorna’s call to serve and for the love and faithfulness that she and Steve share.
As Lorna prepares for ordination and curacy, fill her with Your Spirit, grant her wisdom, compassion, and courage for the road ahead.
Bless Steve with strength and grace as he walks beside her, steady and true.
May their home be a place of peace, their lives a witness to Your goodness, and their ministry a blessing to many.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Rev Dean
