Ten awards for distinguished service to the church will be presented during a service at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford on 27 January. Seven honorary canons will be installed as well as three candidates admitted to The Order of St Frideswide, by the Bishop of Oxford.
The awards recognise the dedication of lay and ordained people to the Diocese of Oxford and the wider church across a variety of areas of ministry and mission. This includes roles supporting theological education in the worldwide Anglican Communion, the deaf and hard of hearing in the diocese, and community organising and church growth.
The Order of St Frideswide is named after the renowned patron saint of Oxford. Founded in 2001, by the then Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Richard Harries, it admits just a small number of people each year. Honorary Canons become part of the Cathedral’s College of Canons, playing an important role and bringing experience and wisdom to promote the life and mission of the Cathedral.
The awards will be made during evensong at 6pm on 27 January, all are welcome to attend.
The recipients this year are:
Gordon Anderson
In his broad and varied voluntary work, Gordon Anderson has held more than 20 positions in a number of church and community organisations. He credits his time as a magistrate in the youth courts with giving him the realisation that the education young people receive is central to keeping them out of the judicial system. It is this knowledge which inspired 26 years of service to education.
It all began with the role of secretary on his local school’s PTA, a position Gordon held for 13 years, and later as a governor of the same school. This sparked an interest which led to roles with the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education including serving on the finance committee and acting asthe Board’s representative on Bracknell Forest Borough Council. Alongside this work, Gordon was a trustee and director of Diocesan Trustees (Oxford) Ltd, a member of the trustees’ investment committee and the Oxford Diocese audit committee. Gordon’s work with Bracknell Forest Borough Council also extended to several education-related committees, including SACRE, of which he was chairman for 13 years and being part of the lifelong learning and children’s services scrutiny panels.
Gordon has also supported the governance of several schools, either as a governor and some as chairman.
On being named as a member of the Order of St Frideswide, Gordon said:
“I was really taken aback and very surprised. Bishop Alan had hinted there was a way they wanted to mark my time at the diocese and I assumed it would be a farewell lunch. So to get this letter from Bishop Steven was a complete surprise. I feel very honoured to be included in a list of people who I consider to be very distinguished.”
Gill Barrow-Jones
An ordinand from the Diocese of Southwark the Revd Gill Barrow-Jones came to ministry after a career in fundraising, working at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. After completing her curacy in Gainsborough, in the Diocese of Lincoln, Gill arrived in Wolverton, where she serves two parishes as Rector. Gill is keen to be at the centre of Wolverton life, using her Christian values to support the community and its development. She works closely with the town council and other organisations, in particular during the planning process for a substantial new housing development in the town centre of Wolverton, and is part of the Churches Together group.
The parish of St George the Martyr is culturally diverse and around 10% of the community are Muslim. Gill is involved in inter-faith projects and sings in an Abrahamic faiths women’s choir. As well as her role on the Diocesan Synod, Gill is Chair of the nomination panel for the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and also spent time as the High Sheriff’s chaplain. In 2020 she received recognition from her own community, and was awarded for her outstanding contribution to Milton Keynes by Women Leaders.
On receiving her honorary canonry, Gill said:
“It is really lovely, something I was not expecting at all and was a real surprise. It just feels really special that all the people who have been involved in my ministry, the bigger team, everybody who works to bring God’s love to people, it feels like a shared enterprise and it feels like they are part of that honour as well. This is a blessing for the whole body of Christ that we are part of.”
Julie Dziegiel
Former-chartered accountant Julie Dziegel has racked up more voluntary hours serving her local church and the Diocese of Oxford than even she can count. An accountant for many years, Julie has turned her skills and expertise to the benefit of the church since 2002 when she became treasurer at her local church.
Since then she has taken on numerous roles offering her sage financial advice and having an impact on policy right up to national level. As well as serving her local parish, Julie became treasurer of the Deanery of Amersham in 2010. She joined the General Synod in the same year and is also an ex-officio member of the Bishop’s Council. The Archbishop’s Council finance committee has benefitted from her input as well as the Inter Diocesan Finance Forum.
Julie was part of the national church steering committee which worked on the recent Cathedrals Measure. More recently as vice chairman of the Oxford Diocese Board of Finance, Julie chaired the parish share review group and continues as vice chairman of the Board.
On becoming an honorary lay canon, Julie said:
“There are people who work just as hard doing stuff that is just as important, who do not get these honours. I am not unusual, what I do is unusual because of my skills, but the fact that people do as much as I do is not unusual.
“I am delighted, possibly a little bemused but it is lovely. What I do is, I wait for the Lord to put work on my desk and then I get on with it. Not only does he give me things to do, he makes me fascinated by them.”
Helen Kendrick
A lifelong Christian, it was the natural choice for the Revd Helen Kendrick to answer her calling to become a priest following a career in scientific publishing. It was a chance conversation at a dinner party, not long after the first women had been ordained, which inspired Helen to take the step into ministry.
Helen has strong roots in the diocese, having lived here since she was five years old. She was ordained priest in 2000 and served her curacy in Watlington and is now Rector at the DAMASCUS benefice, between Abingdon and Didcot. She has spent time as Area Dean for Abingdon and also took on the role of Acting Assistant Archdeacon for a year. But parish ministry is where her heart lies and is borne out by the reaction of her parishioners to the news of her canonry, which moved her more than the Bishop’s letter itself.
On hearing of the news of her nomination to canon, Helen said:
“It was a wonderful surprise, I realise it is a real honour. I never felt called to be anything other than a parish priest. I still wake up in the morning loving what I do and knowing I am in the right place. I am now marrying people I baptised, I have been here so long. Staying put has become something that is important to me, that rootedness and connectedness.”
Father Darren McFarland
Father Darren McFarland has travelled the four corners of the British Isles and beyond to carry out his ministry. He began his journey to priesthood in his native Ireland before moving to Glasgow, arriving in Oxford in 2011 where he became Vicar of Headington St Andrew.
Working with young people, or for the good of their development, is a thread which has run through Darren’s ministry. He is an Oxford Board of Education trustee and serves as a governor in two local schools where he says making connections with parents is what inspires his work.
As assistant chaplain at Keble College he assists with weekly services where he enjoys encountering young people on their journey to faith. A close relationship with the choir there also showed Darren the power of music as a missional tool. He is a trustee of the Community of St Mary the Virgin, a community of Anglican nuns whose primary charism was teaching.
Darren also serves on the Deanery Synod, the Diocesan Synod and Bishop’s Council.
On being nominated as an honorary canon, Darren said:
“It does feel like an honour and I have always been very fond of cathedral worship and passionate about the role of cathedrals within our communities and within our Anglican family. It is a great privilege.
“For me, being part of the diocese is not just about the local church, there is more to it than that. We need to be outward looking as well, to be informed. If we know what is happening in the bigger picture it can inform everything we do. You are ‘at the table’ albeit a very big table and you can inform the decisions made."
Jason St John Nicolle
The Revd Jason St John Nicolle was ordained in 2004 in the diocese and has spent all his time in ministry here. In 2008 he moved to the Churn benefice after his curacy in Kidlington, serving seven parishes in the south of Oxfordshire, where he remains today.
Jason is committed to parish ministry but enjoys the new opportunities serving the church in other ways can bring. He has been part of the Diocesan Synod since 2012, and also serves as the Area Dean for the Vale of White Horse. He was a trustee of Diocesan Trustee (Oxford) Ltd for three years, and has served as an elected member of the buildings committee for several years.
Working to see communities flourish is at the heart of Jason’s work. He is chairman of Churches Together in Oxfordshire, vice-chairman of the Faringdon Learning Trust and is part of the Oxford Historic Churches Trust.
On receiving his honorary canonry, he said:
“It is a great honour. It comes with a great sense of responsibility. I look forward to the role. God’s holy spirit does not limit itself to the work of the church. I think God is calling our church to evolve and that’s exciting. The heart of my life is helping the church to cherish the best of the past together with an openness to the future and holding these two things together."
Ainsley Swift
A conversion experience in his late teens led the Revd Ainsley Swift to a lifetime of Christian service. He began his career as a teacher, taking a keen interest in community development work, in and around the docklands area in Liverpool. He answered his call to be ordained and completed a four-year curacy in the city before moving south to Windsor.
He served 20 years in Maidenhead and Windsor before moving to his current post as Vicar of Bray. He maintains his link to education as a governor at two nearby church schools and has also been part of the Diocesan Synod since 2009. He is also Area Dean for Maidenhead and Windsor.
Speaking on his installation as honorary canon, Ainsley said:
“I was not expecting to open that letter, the thought had not even crossed my mind. It is a great pleasure and a great honour. It made me reflect on what a long journey I have been on, from a community development worker in Liverpool to 25 years in ministry in Windsor and Maidenhead.”
John Sykes
John Sykes is a man with a busy schedule. Despite only just retiring from his 56-year career as a chartered electrical engineer, he has still found the time to make a considerable contribution to the running of his own church and the diocese.
John is in his second three-year term as Chair of the House of Laity of the Oxford Diocesan Synod, a member of Bishop’s Council and the finance committee, and chairs the Human Resources Panel and Development Fund Panel. He was previously Lay Chair of Maidenhead and Windsor Deanery and was churchwarden for 14 years at Cookham Dean, where he is currently Parochial Church Council secretary.
John is married to Lorna, who is one of the current churchwardens at Cookham Dean and a governor of the local CE primary school. They have been married for over 30 years and have an extended family of three grown up children and four (soon to be five) grandchildren.
On receiving the nomination to the Order of St Frideswide, John said:
“I felt very humble to be nominated and even more so when I looked at the list of current and past members of the Order. During my long career I acquired considerable experience of chairing meetings and getting decision-making bodies to work in a collaborative and constructive way. It is really rewarding to be using that experience in the service of the diocese and God’s kingdom.”
Jim Tucker
Dedication is a theme which runs through Jim Tucker’s life. He has been involved in the running of his local church, St Michael’s in Bray, for 30 years. He has spent time as a church warden and treasurer. His experience saw him elected to the deanery of Maidenhead and Windsor where he served as treasurer for 10 years and later as deanery lay chair.
Jim has been part of the Deanery Synod for more than 28 years, and has been its lay chair since 2019. For the past six years, his duties have also included lay membership of the Diocesan Synod.
Jim spent 31 years at the Halifax Building Society, finishing as branch manager at Maidenhead. He has been married to his wife Jackie for 53 years, and has three sons and four grandchildren.
On receiving the honour of joining the Order of St Frideswide, Jim said:
“I am surprised, delighted, and humbled to be singled out for this award. I was not looking for anything like this but the acknowledgement from the Bishop means a lot. My work has been very rewarding and I feel that I am receiving this on behalf of a great many people who do just as much as I do.”
David Williams
Training and mentoring new clergy has been at the cornerstone of the Revd David Williams’ time at the Diocese of Oxford. Indeed he is currently overseeing the training of his 17th person in licensed ministry!
David was ordained deacon in 1984 and served his curacy in Winchester diocese. In that diocese, he took on several incumbency roles and served on various diocesan committees, especially enjoying his work as the Diocesan Convenor of Vocation Advisers, before coming to the Diocese of Oxford and his current role as Rector at St Mary’s Princes Risborough and St Peter’s in Ilmer in 2009. As Team Rector, he oversees eight churches and the Risborough team ministry.
As well as a passion for encouraging vocation, David has led missional churches, focussed on being a transformational change for the communities they belong to. In Princes Risborough, David has been one of the guiding lights for the Prince’s Centre for vulnerable adults, helping to save it from closure by the council and becoming a trustee of the now independent trust which runs it. He works closely with the town council to offer support to the community and provide a visible presence. St Mary’s has become the first port of call for homeless people and those in need in the area.
David has also given his time as chair of the Churches Together group and supported the local schools as a governor.
On hearing of his being made an honorary canon, David said:
“There is an excitement but not just for myself. You realise that what is being offered is also recognising a whole host of other people, who serve in the teams behind you. If something like this comes your way, it is recognising everybody that has been part of that journey. It is wonderful that the church and the work we are doing has been recognised.”