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David Stone writes: "I'm delighted to be able to announce that James Cook is to become Curate-in-training at St Nicolas following his ordination at the beginning of October. Here's what he has written to introduce himself to us."
My first involvement with the churches of the Newbury area was in 1986, having just moved in my employment from Kent to Berkshire. In that year, Mission Newbury galvanised Christians of all denominations to bring others to a large marquee on the racecourse to hear about Jesus. Methods and style of mission have changed since those days, but the excitement of sharing our Christian faith in the Newbury area remains. It is a great privilege to be coming to work and train at St Nicolas Church, a worshipping and sharing community in the heart of the town.
A renewed calling to ordained ministry in the Church of England came in 2001. My wife Suzanne and I were living and working in Nigeria, where I was an executive director in a large cement company. We were members of the Church of Nigeria, and when I shared the sense of calling with my local bishop, he said, "If this is of God, you won't want to do anything else." So it has proved. On retiring from industry and settling back in our home village of Hampstead Norreys, I studied first at Wycliffe Hall Oxford for two years (gaining a Diploma in Biblical and Theological Studies) and then for three years on the Oxford Ministry Course based at Ripon College Cuddesdon.
Suzanne and I hope to become very much part of the family of St Nicolas Church, and we are looking forward to joining everyone in Newbury following my ordination in Oxford on 4th October.
James Cook
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