St Magnus Episcopal Church welcomes new Priest

In a special service on Wednesday 17th September, Rev Helen Randall was Ordained as a Priest by the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, Rt Rev Anne Dyer at St Magnus Scottish Episcopal Church, Lerwick. The church was filled with friends from all over Shetland for the celebration – with dozens more joining on-line.

Helen has been a member of St Magnus since moving to Shetland in 2018. Vestry Secretary Marilyn Pope commented, “It was a very special occasion for our congregation and the wider community in Shetland. It is such a pleasure to see one of our own folk ordained as a Priest.” Helen will serve as an Assistant Curate at both St Magnus, Lerwick and St Colman, Burravoe on the island of Yell.

Before she retired, Helen worked in Primary education in England as a class teacher, mentor and manager. Following three years training at the Scottish Episcopal Institute, Helen was ordained as a Deacon in Aberdeen last September.

She said, “I never imagined that I’d be called to continue my journey of ministry, as an ordained minister, at my age! But I’m happy to respond to what I believe to be a call of God. I’m so grateful for the love and support I’ve received from family, and friends here in Shetland during this journey towards ordination. As a Priest I can now begin to give something back as I minister to the church and the wider community”.

Helen has a special interest in pilgrimage and ministry out-with our church buildings. On Friday 19th September she celebrated her first service of Holy Communion on the beach at the Sands of Sound, with a gathered congregation of about twenty folk. This she called “Shoormal Kirk”, using the Shetlandic word for the high tide line on the beach. After the service she said, “it was very exciting being able to bring worship to the beach, in the beauty of creation. I hope we will be able to have more creative outdoor services in the future, Shetland weather permitting, of course!”