When did you study at St Mellitus College and in which programme?
I started 2019 and I was doing the independent undergraduate BA in Theology, Ministry and Mission.
What are you doing now vocationally?
I have been a youth worker my whole professional life for different charities. I worked for Manchester Diocese for a little bit while I was at college as well. Now I am the chaplain of Canon Slade High School, which is a big Church of England high school in Bolton, in Greater Manchester. I finished college in July 2022 and didn’t know what I was going to do. This role came out of nowhere, and different vicar friends I had said, “Oh, this job has come available, you should apply for it.” I didn’t really want to apply for it, but I did because I thought, well, I probably should. And then I got the job, and I’ve been there ever since. I am just starting my fourth year here, so that’s what I do with my day job.
I knew I wanted to work with people still, and I was doing the whole youth work aspect alongside the degree, but I never dreamed of becoming a chaplain in a school. It was never, that’s what I want to do. But the more I’m doing the role now, the more I see how God has prepared me for this throughout my working life.
Doing college, you may think, oh, I’ll get all these answers I can share with people. But I feel like it’s helped me more with the, oh, it’s actually okay to have maybe a bit of an answer, but also say I’m not sure about that one. Let’s explore that—we don’t often have this all nailed.
I think what also struck me within the theology degree was the idea of orthodoxy as a big field with a hedge around it. There’s a lot of room for play within those parameters before you go into non-Christian thought. I feel like even though I didn’t have the, I want to be a chaplain, it was definitely, I can kind of see where God has led me to this point.
But vocationally, I see songwriting and recording—I rarely get paid for it; sometimes I do, but not often—as a big part of my calling. I use it a lot in my ministry with young people, writing songs with them. I think the degree has really helped both those areas.
Looking back, what resonates most for you about your time at St Mellitus?
Being able to sit in lectures with people who have really gone deep with theology and who are also involved in ministry— I appreciated learning from those kinds of minds. Rowan Williams is a standout one. I remember one lecture on St Augustine which was so inspiring. A Hebrews lecture on one of the Tuesdays—the knowledge they pulled out of the letter to the Hebrews really built my faith.
Some of the lectures I came out thinking, oh, I don’t know what I think anymore. Whereas that Hebrews lecture was like, I feel really built up and confident in the Scriptures more so now, and that was amazing.
I think just personally being stretched—that step of faith—I went part-time to do the degree from a job I had been in for years, and it was a real step of faith personally for me to do that. To do that thing where you go part-time working and trust God—that was huge for me. And just seeing God provide along the way, even after college, not knowing what I was doing and then the right role fell into place at the right moment, it definitely built my faith again.
As a church leader, how has studying theology shaped how you lead, teach, or pastor in your current context?
I sometimes feel it’s hard in a chaplaincy role to feel like you’re able to fix a situation. I definitely think that studying theology alongside actually doing the job, I have grown in confidence in being able to say, I can’t fix this situation. Like when you’re sat with a child who lost a parent, or facing long-term illness, or things that have happened in their past, you can’t fix it. But at the same time, you can say, I am here to listen and pray with you and ask God on your behalf that Jesus might intervene in these situations. I feel like being around people you can explore those things with, who are also ministering to other people, was really helpful.
Even the things that you read when studying theology, you see it’s often a struggle, it’s often quite difficult, as well as being hopeful. You grow in that kind of experience of knowing you don’t have to be flashy or all-singing-and-dancing. You can do ministry in the strength and power of what Jesus brings, and that’s far better than big and bold and expressive and quick-fix answers. Working alongside people and walking with them – I think all the things we had to study and read kind of strengthen that, because you are working alongside people who are living that reality as well.
In what ways did your time at St Mellitus prepare you for the real challenges and joys of walking in your calling?
The idea of the hedge within orthodoxy, there’s a big space to play in. Before I was in college, I knew what I thought, and I was quite comfortable within my evangelical Christian bubble. But even just being able to see difference in people and celebrate it and just appreciate the breadth of the church, even outside of it, and not be suspicious of people. To be like, oh, there are great people in that area of the church, or even outside of it.
It helped me take a lot of the pressure off myself in having to have all the answers or only being comfortable with people who are like me. College really equipped me with that. And just every day as well, the whole environment of prayer and worship was great. I pray every day in my role, but often I forget that God answers my prayers. Now I am trying to think of it more—like, that felt quite stressful, and then it was fine and got sorted.
Working in a school, it’s often onto the next thing really quickly, and I try to stay close to God within that and not get caught up in the fast pace of everything. Trying to go at a different speed intentionally—I feel more confident in doing that. College really equipped me to see that there is a speed you probably shouldn’t go at if you want to be faithful. But there’s always a temptation to get caught up in it and do things in your own strength, so just going back and saying, I need to pray about this.
I think I as well have gotten to a place of being like, the to-do list is always there, and you never complete it all. But trying to be intentional—like, that’s all I can do today, and I need to leave it until tomorrow. The whole Matthew 6 thing: don’t worry about tomorrow. That’s literally me. I have to actually put that into practice, because you’ve only got so many things you can do. And the things you most want to do (most of the days) you end up not being able to do. So, when that happens, I try to trust that God has the work for me to do that day, and other things will have to wait and fall into place when they can.
Why would you encourage someone to study theology?
Studying theology helps you to ask bigger questions of life that all of us have. I think everyone is hungry for, what does all of this mean? Especially in the face of the news, it seems quite hopeless a lot of the time if you saturate yourself in the news, which a lot of people do.
So, I think asking those big questions, realising how old the church is, and how some of the most brilliant minds that have ever lived have been church people—that builds confidence. Growing in confidence that this isn’t just a private religious thing; it’s people who have been wrestling with these things, and they have good answers. Growing in confidence in our Christian faith, and I think people are hungry for that. So, studying theology can do a world of good for our own soul but also for the benefit of other people. The ability to listen to people and be open to other ideas outside of our own experience is invaluable.
