Category: Meet the students

We are becoming a very different sort of Church. And that’s our challenge right now, to become a different sort of Church. A challenge I feel equipped to face because I trained at St Augustine’s, because St Augustine’s encourages its students to find different ways to look at things and different ways to do things. You will get the opportunity not only to explore the length, height, breadth and width of God’s love, but also the opportunity to explore the length, height, breadth and width of the Church of England as well. It will be…

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Ben is an ordinand studying part-time at Trinity House, Southwark, and West Malling Abbey, St Augustine’s College of Theology. We asked him to tell us a bit about himself, and what being a student here means to him. In my secular job I work for Serco, running their in-house think tank and philanthropic arm. During the coronavirus pandemic that has involved setting up a support fund for small charities and community groups, which has been inspiring. My religious background is quite varied. My wife’s family are Roman Catholic and Buddhist, and I was brought up…

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Folake is a former student at St Augustine’s, and was ordained in 2018. We asked her to tell us a bit about her journey towards ordination, and how studying at St Augustine’s helped to prepare her for her current role. My journey through discernment I had been involved in prayer ministry since I was 15 years old, and really wanted to do something with that. When I began to worship at the Rochester Cathedral in 2008, I noticed this area of need there. When I took the idea to the Rev. Canon Jean Kerr, she…

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Beverley is an ordinand studying full-time at West Malling Abbey, St Augustine’s College of Theology. We asked her to tell us a bit about herself, and what being a student here means to her. A bit about me My primary training was in nursing, though I’d originally wanted to be a teacher. After qualifying, I did a couple of teaching certificates and worked as a nurse tutor, health visitor and also as a consultant for KCC Social Services in training and leadership development. I had a passion for training, and one day I realised that…

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Ollie Phipps is a first-year ordinand based in Kent and studying part-time at West Malling Abbey, St Augustine’s College of Theology. We asked him to tell us a bit about himself, and what being a student here means to him. A bit about me I was born into a Christian household and have been a lifelong churchgoer, becoming part of the fabric of the Church – leading youth and other groups. When I started my nursing training, over 20 years ago now, I started seeing a lot of death and severe illness; so many young…

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Mark is an ordinand based in Chelmsford Diocese and studying part-time at West Malling Abbey, St Augustine’s College of Theology. We asked him to tell us a bit about himself, and what being a student here means to him. A bit about me I felt called to ministry from a young age, even though I didn’t know exactly what that meant. I have a Pentecostal background, and I’ve always been passionate about sharing my faith and going to church. I was part of the youth leadership team for my church for many years, with 130…

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I had already walked away from a full-time job to become a carer for one of my children, who has a disability. I did look at residential training, but my daughter was preparing for GCSEs so I didn’t want to uproot the family. At St Augustine’s, I found a beautiful place with amazing staff, and felt immediately embraced and welcomed by everyone see more here.  

Tim is an ordinand studying full-time at Trinity House, Southwark, St Augustine’s College of Theology. We asked him to tell us a bit about himself, and what being a student here means to him. I’m originally from Northern Ireland. Most of my jobs since leaving school have been in youth and community work, in a church. I studied community development at university, studying community work and working in housing estates in Belfast. After graduating, I got itchy feet and got a job in youth work in an Anglican church in the Netherlands. At that time…

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Esther is a first-year ordinand based in Surrey and studying full-time at West Malling Abbey. We asked her to tell us a bit about herself, and what being a student here means to her. I’m originally from Barry in South Wales, and grew up with a Pentecostal Baptist church background. I spent some time doing missionary work in Nicaragua, and when I returned to the UK, God gave me the opportunity to move to Surrey to work with young people in an Anglican church. Having never worshipped in the Anglican style it was very new,…

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