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From The New Team Vicar - Ros Latham
Meet Ros Latham, to be licensed as our Team Vicar in Dorchester Abbey on 10th October at 8pm. All are very welcome
‘I grew up on a farm in North Yorkshire and early Christian nurture involved hiding in the straw shed so I didn't have to go to the Methodist Sunday School. My father was the organist at the Methodist church and my mother church warden at the Anglican church in the small village where we lived. I could never decide which church I wanted to go to, the chapel was considerably warmer - but the sermons were longer! For various reasons I transferred from the local Grammar School to a Methodist boarding school at thirteen and became a full member of the Methodist Church at fifteen.
‘In my twenties I found myself a farmer's wife with young children in another small village. The chapel was closed and it was more important for me to worship with the community among whom I lived than travel five miles down the road to find a Methodist church. I then asked about a Sunday School at church, found myself starting one, was scooped up onto the PCC and so my church life progressed. At thirty I was confirmed, began training as a secondary RE teacher and later as a Church of England reader.
‘In my mid forties I decided to explore ordination, was selected and began training at Westcott House in Cambridge in 2000. That was quite some culture shock after living in the same ten square miles of rural North Yorkshire for 45 years. I remember finding the small Sainsbury's in the centre of Cambridge so crowded when the students came back that I had to dump my basket and run, returning later when things were quieter. I have come on quite a bit since those days. I decided I needed to extend my experience into a different type of community for my curacy and was curate in the town centre church in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, for three years. I loved it: so many more and different people to meet and talk to.
‘From Scunthorpe I moved to be team vicar in the Durham North Team. The team comprises seven churches from central Durham extending out to the ex-pit villages to the North. I have had pastoral responsibility for two such villages with a joint population of about 8,500. Much of my time has been involved with closing the old church and building a new church which we have shared with the Methodists. It has required some brave decisions by the congregation to achieve a new and community friendly worship space in the centre of the village, but it is already proving to be a wonderful opportunity for many new initiatives to reach out to the community around us. Circumstances and reorganisation of the churches in the area mean the position is no longer a team post. I am committed to team working, both clergy and laity together. We can achieve so much more together than apart and support each other much more effectively. Which all leads to me arriving in the Berinsfield cluster of the Dorchester team, a long way from my Yorkshire beginnings.
‘There have been ups and downs on the way, sadly including the break up of my first marriage. But I have now been happily married to Peter for four years. He is a forester with many diverse interests including philosophy, singing and gardening. Our move is an opportunity for him to retire and leave the forestry business in the capable hands of the eldest of his four children and hopefully to find more time for his other interests.
‘My own children, Laura (28) and Mike (26), live in London and North Yorkshire respectively. Laura is exploring Africa at the moment - before she reaches thirty when she assures me it is too late to do anything. Mike has had to diversify from farming in order to make a living and is working long days making garden sheds as his new business gets off the ground.
‘This is just a snapshot of my story. I look forward to learning more of yours over the coming months.'
With my love and prayers, Ros
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