These are the ten deacons who will be ordained at Ely Cathedral next weekend

Rachel Hilditch, Stuart Browning, Jackie Riglin, Chris Henderson (Image: Archant)

Here’s a little bit about each of them...

Ann Bol: Shingay group of parishes, South Cambridgeshire

Born in New Zealand, trained in psychology and audiology and said: “My desire is now to help people hear the wonderful news of the Gospel and come to know the immensity of God’s perfect love. This is very exciting.”

Nicola Bown: Linton

Raised in an atheist family, she started going to church as a form of teenage rebellion. Nicola left home early, later working as a cleaner, civil servant, waiter, trade union activist and librarian before returning to education and studying for a part-time degree.

She has been a lecturer in Victorian Studies at Birkbeck College in London since 2001.

After her children were born she started going to church regularly and found a deep faith and a calling to ordained ministry.

Stuart Browning: Holy Trinity, Cambridge.

Between working at Holy Trinity and training at Trinity College, Bristol, Stuart worked as an innovation consultant. He is looking forward both to coming back to Cambridge and getting back into pastoral ministry.

Beth Cope: Lordsbridge Team, South Cambridgeshire.

Beth has trained as an ordained pioneer minster at Ridley Hall. She trained as a computational mineral physicist, researching her PhD in the Cambridge University Earth Science Department.

The family (her husband Peter, a vet, children Matthew and Rachel, and Sam the border collie) are delighted to be remaining in Ely Diocese.

Kieran Douglass: Histon St Andrew, Histon St Etheldreda and Impington.

Kieran came to faith when he was 17 while at Spring Harvest with a church youth group at Butlins Minehead. He gave up starting a sport psychology internship at Southampton Football Club in order to work at a church and start exploring a call to ordained ministry.

Christopher Henderson: Little Shelford

Prior to theological training, he worked for four years on the church staff of All Saints and Holy Trinity, Wandsworth. Before that, he worked for the National Audit Office, mostly on audit of MoD and the Department of Health.

Rachel Hilditch: Hampton, near Peterborough

She was brought up in a remote corner of rural Suffolk and studied anglo-saxon history at university, as well as taking part in archaeological digs.

Gina Radford: Anglesey Group

She is deputy chief medical officer for England in the Department of Health, a post she took up in January 2015. Outside work, Gina was licensed as a lay minister in the Church of England in 2012, ministering in a benefice of six small rural villages.

Jacqueline Riglin: St George, Chesterton

She grew up in Harrow, Middlesex, and came to faith at her local baptist church. “Alongside the physical journeying, my faith journey has led me to the Anglican Church and now ordination,” she said.

Alex Shannon: St Ives

Educated in the shadow of the cathedral, at the King’s School, he began his involvement in the life of the church. Throughout his studies, Alex continued to be involved with music both inside and outside the church, playing the oboe in orchestras, conducting, and being involved with productions of musical theatre and operetta.