In our last blogpost, we were introduced to one of our two new curates. Here, in his own words, is some more information about the other!
I’m Fr. Jake Pass, the new Curate at St Mary the Virgin, Ware. I am delighted to be serving my Title Post in Ware, among the people of St Mary’s and alongside The Reverend Ysmena Pentelow. The first few months have been wonderful, and it has been good fun getting to know the parish, local area, and the wider Deanery.
What was really exciting was that I got to do this from both the ground and the air! One of our parishioners has a Light Aircraft Licence and offered to take me up for a tour of the parish and local area. Not only was it interesting and helpful, but also loads of fun.
In addition to my parish ministry, I also serve as the District Chaplain for Hertfordshire Sea Cadets and Company Chaplain for X-Ray Company of the Royal Marines Cadets. This is a ministry which I absolutely love and offers a great way of working with young people and adults who would ordinarily have little or no contact with the Church.
Prior to ordination, for just under eight years I worked for The Mission to Seafarers in various chaplaincy positions both in the UK and overseas; I was based in Belfast, London, Seattle, Dunkerque, and The Humber.
It was during my time with The Mission that I was able to really understand in depth the calling which I had felt since I was a teenager, and there were several experiences which helped discern WHY I was being called to the priesthood. It was through serving seafarers practically and spiritually that I understood my calling to be one that is sacramentally missional.
In terms of my training, my theological study and formation was done in an unusual way, whereby part of it was done part-time on a course-based programme with the Lincoln School of Theology and St Hild College, and the final year being done at Westcott House, Cambridge.
I am looking forward to seeing what God is already doing in this place and joining in; being an agent of God’s loving purposes through a sacramental missional ministry.
I’m originally from Hertfordshire and the Diocese of St Albans, and so after spending many years travelling around it has been nice to come back home to serve my curacy. I grew up in Hemel Hempstead and attended church at St Benedict’s, Bennetts End, where I was a server. I was very much an (almost) cradle Anglican. Later on, during secondary school (Townsend CE, St Albans) I moved to worshipping at St Albans Cathedral and that very much became home. So, it was particularly special for me to be ordained in the Cathedral this year because I was being ordained in the place that was and still is very much my ‘spiritual home’.
Now with my focus on my ministry here in Ware, I am looking forward to seeing what God is already doing in this place and joining in; being an agent of God’s loving purposes through a sacramental missional ministry.
As is probably evident from what has been written, I have a particular passion for chaplaincy, chaplaincy studies, and practical theology. I am very happy to talk to anyone in more detail about this.
With all good wishes,
Fr. Jake