On Sunday 16 May a service of confirmation and baptism took place at Leicester Cathedral. The photo above (from left to right) shows Charles from Leicester Cathedral, Jay, Kerry, Emma and Linda from St Nicolas, Leicester and Charlotte from Leicester Cathedral. Charlotte was baptized and confirmed and as a pupil at Leicester Grammar was presented Philip Millward the school's Chaplain.
Read testimonies from each of the candidates below:
Charlotte Williams:
I’ve always been interested and fascinated by religion. However, the fact that faith and religion is something people can centre their whole life around felt very alien to me, before finding God I’d never experienced anything like that before. I took Religious Studies at A-level and as my interest in religion grew, I decided to do my EPQ on the driving force behind church attendance. From there I then went church hopping, experiencing the services and sermons but from an outsiders perspective. Then I went to Leicester Cathedral and was struck by the beauty and serenity of it, after the service a sudden wave of emotion took over and I felt as if I could cry. After this I knew I had to explore the religious moment I had experienced. As time went on, I became a regular at the Cathedral. The peace of Christianity is something I hold very dearly in my heart and I truly believe the teachings of Jesus have helped me become a better person. Hence why I wish to be baptised and confirmed in the religion and community that has brought me so much joy
Emma Kenny:
Being baptised in the Church of England three months after I was born was where my journey of faith began. Growing up, my parents and Godparents would ensure that Easter and Christmas were celebrated for the true reasons, God. We had Easter eggs and we went to visit Santa but it was important that my two brothers and I grew up knowing the real reason and importance of such festivals. I always remember visiting the Nativity scene in Leicester Town Hall Square each year and always taking a moment to reflect on the Christmas story. My Mum, who I am pleased to be affirming my faith with, was always encouraging us to talk about God and question our faiths in a way that would help us to find God in our lives.
When starting my GCSEs in Year 10 I decided that I wanted to take Religious Studies. This gave me the opportunity to learn more about Christianity and my faith. It was from this course that I first started to read verses of the Bible. I specifically remember writing a piece of coursework about the crucifixion and how Jesus was calling on Elijah. I quoted the Bible in my coursework and my teacher was very impressed with me. This is a part of the Bible that has always stuck with me and I think this is the point where interest in my faith grew. From that period in my life I was interested in learning more about religious rituals, rites of passages, pilgrimages, and the Bible. A particular interest of mine came when I was learning about Jerusalem and Jesus’ final days. I developed a love of learning about the Holy Land and will often watch documentaries about it and will, hopefully, one day plan a visit there myself to walk the path that Jesus did.
Although God has always been a part of my life it is only since September 2020 when I got engaged that I have started to attend St. Nicholas’ church. Attending church to build up a relationship with the church has strengthened my faith in God. The services give me an opportunity to discuss how we find God in our everyday lives and develop my knowledge of the Bible. I am very thankful and blessed to have had God’s love and guidance in my life so far. It is from the experiences of God in my life and the prospect of starting a new chapter in my life by way of marriage that I am now ready to publicly affirm my faith.
Jay Hulme:
My ‘faith story’ is a long one, but goes something like this: I was brought up by staunch Atheists; they weren’t fans of Christianity, and we didn’t even celebrate a secular Christmas, but I’d always been fascinated by church buildings. Even when I was a small child they were like beautiful beacons, calling out to me. I’d always been wary of condemnation from people of faith, however - I was too poor, too Queer, too dodgy, too chaotic, for Christianity - and so though I’d often admire them from the outside, I never went inside.
When I went to university, I moved to Bristol - a city filled with churches - and they called out to me louder than ever. I began to go inside them, to stand and stare - always avoiding Sundays and services. I told myself the peace, the sense of ‘rightness’ I felt in them was just because of how much I liked the architecture.
One day I went to Durham, and visited the Cathedral. I stayed for Evensong, and felt something I’d never felt before. I would regularly goto Durham for work, and would visit the Cathedral for Evensong every night - still claiming I was there for the music and architecture. Craving God, while simultaneously pushing Them away. Then, In 2018 I met some Actual Real Life Christians. They were Queer, like me, and Priests. I saw maybe I could belong.
On the 5 of November 2019 I went to Evensong at Durham Cathedral (again). During the service I challenged God to “do a thing”. To prove They existed. I was sick of the struggle. Later that night, as I sat with a friend on a bridge, the Cathedral high on the cliffs behind us, a boy walked over to the edge, climbed onto the parapet, and jumped. Despite the direction of the current, and the fact that the river was icy, swollen with rain, and full of debris from bursting its banks, the boy washed up at the feet of a small group of people who had been walking on the normally deserted, unlit, unpaved, path, that led nowhere but the closed and locked university boatsheds. He was alive.
The next day I went back to the Cathedral, spoke to a Priest, stole a Bible from the University, and offered myself up to God. I read the Bible cover to cover. Then I read a different translation, and another. By that point Covid had swept the country. I emailed Karen, at St Nicholas, Leicester, and asked how you’d go about joining a church during a plague. She had no idea, I didn’t either, but we made it work. When St Nicks opened in the autumn, I was there. Soon after, in late October, I was baptised.
I feel the call again, though in truth it never really left - to be part of this. To be in it, all of the way. To once again publicly affirm my belief in God, and to follow that call wherever it leads me.
Linda Kenny:
Hello, my name is Linda and I was welcomed into the Church of England by way of Baptism when I was almost 10 weeks old. I was baptised at St. Bartholomew’s Church in a little village called Greens Norton, Northamptonshire where my parents had married the previous year. As a child I grew up with good, honest & hardworking morals instilled by my parents and grandparents. At the suggestion of my paternal grandmother, who along with her parents and siblings were Salvationists, I was sent along to Sunday school at the Salvation Army. As the years rolled by, I became a junior soldier, a member of the timbrels (tambourines) and the band. I also joined the Bible study group and would enjoy all the research into the meanings of the parables and Bible text resulting in many questions and discussions. I remained with the Salvation Army until I was around 15 and had met a boy who I married 5 years later.
As our marriage progressed, we were blessed with 3 healthy children. We tried to attend Church as a family but that did not go very well with such a young family. However, we still tried to raise them with a good understanding of the Christian faith, and I would take every opportunity to raise questions and discussions with them as the years went on.
I see with my work as an Activity Coordinator in a care home for the elderly, how much pain people can go through with the varying illnesses that I come across but no matter how much pain they are in most of them still have or re-find their religion or belief in God. Recently I was able to sit with a lady who was at the end of life, her faith was very strong and important to her. As she lay dozing, I played her some hymns and slow and steady we recited The Lord’s Prayer together. I went to work the next day to be told that she had passed. I was grateful that I was given the chance to sit with this lady and do something that was so important to her.
The Easter story, for as long as I can remember, has been the one that has had the most impact on me, and this year has been no exception and has left me more emotional about it all. I have always believed and trusted in Jesus the Son of God but with the recent pandemic and myself and my daughter classed as key workers it has at times been hard putting ourselves at risk for others. I believe we have done it and got through it with Gods help and guidance.
I am overjoyed to be able to publicly affirm my faith in God by way of confirmation and with God’s love, help and guidance I hope to continue to help others who may be in need of help physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Kerry Jackson
If you were afforded the long version of my testimony at my baptism, you will know that my journey to faith has come over a number of years.
A shorter way of describing this would be to relate it to ‘seed dormancy’ (for any keen gardeners) The seeds of Christian faith have been ‘scattered’ within my life from a young age. I had a ‘Dedication’ service as a child and attended church for a number of years into my early teens before this fell away into the background for a while.
My Dad in particular, held a strong faith which I was always aware of, though it was not pressed upon me. I returned to church when he fell terminally ill around 8 years ago, attending ‘in his place’ so to speak.
I guess you could say from this point a few seeds began to germinate, and I truly sought my own relationship with God. This was a slow, confusing and sometimes difficult process within the confines of a church community that unfortunately largely only saw one aspect of me.
I prayed into this a lot, I respected this community of devout Christians and if these people did not approve of me was it not easier to walk away from faith entirely? No, this was not an option, I needed relocating rather than removing.
St Nicholas has provided the ideal growing conditions for me and I honestly feel that God has provided me with a double dose of ‘Miracle Gro’ during this time. I’ve been able to truly reflect, participate, question, learn and grow within my faith. I have been able to publicly declare this through Baptism and want to confirm these promises made.
I am truly grateful to St Nicholas who I feel “see” so much more of me and I feel sure that my faith will continue to blossom.