Thank you for your very warm welcome to the Parish on 30 June, my first Sunday as your new Curate. I thought you might like to know a little more about me.
I was born in Yorkshire, but also spent some of my childhood in Devon and Surrey, so I don’t really think of myself as a Londoner, although I have lived here for a long time now. After boarding school in Devon, I read English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford and moved to London for my first job in administration in the then nationalised electricity supply industry. When I married Simon in 1981 we lived briefly in Golders Green and then settled in Finchley. We have lived in our current house in North Finchley since 1986. We have three children, Anna (27), John (25), who is married to Catharine, and Paul (21), who you might have met on 30 June. I spent a number of years at home full-time with my children before returning to administrative posts with Middlesex University, based at Enfield and then Archway. The time at home allowed me to pursue a wide range of voluntary interests, both within and outside the church. These included singing lessons, swimming lessons, learning a little Italian, teaching English conversation to (mainly) Japanese ladies, briefly running a toddler group and being a governor at our local church secondary school. Before training for ordination I also trained in spiritual direction with the London Centre for Spirituality.
I had wanted to study theology for a long time, but the possibility of ordination first occurred to me in 1997 one day while I was washing up. It has been a long slow journey for me to reach this point. I have just completed two years of full-time training at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford. During this time I was a weekly boarder at Cuddesdon, returning to Finchley at weekends. The College at Cuddesdon is in a village just outside Oxford. As a country girl at heart I have loved the rural setting. Much of my thinking and praying has happened while walking the footpaths around the college. I am delighted to find myself now within easy distance of Hampstead Heath, and I expect to continue the walks!
Although we have attended Christ Church North Finchley since our marriage in 1981, I have worshipped in many different churches during my lifetime and appreciate a range of different styles of worship. I am particularly looking forward to the music and liturgy at Hampstead Parish Church. I also have a special interest in spirituality. When not working, my favourite leisure activities are walking and gardening, although I am not a very expert gardener! I also try to swim regularly, and Simon and I belong to a local Scottish country dancing club. We are also keen, although not frequent, theatre-goers. Our tickets for the Hampstead Players’ Production of ‘As you Like it’ are already booked!
I look forward very much to getting to know you over the coming weeks and months.
From our new Curate
Diana Young