Reverend Canon Julie Hutchinson
My
early
childhood
years
were
in
the
City
of
Leicester.
My
Father
was
a
police
officer
and
my
Mother
worked
in
finance.
I
have
two
younger
siblings
both
of
whom
still
live
in
Leicestershire close to my parents.
I
left
school
at
16
and
was
one
of
several
who
went
into
banking.
My
plan
as
I
entered
the
Midland
Bank
was
to
apply
for
nursing
at
the
age
of
eighteen
but
instead
I
met
and
married
Phillip.
It
was
my
friend
Sue,
later
to
be
Godmother
to
my
son
David,
who
became
a
nurse.
Phillip
and
I
met
through
the
youth
group
at
church,
St
Deny’s
in
Evington.
I
was
only
there
that
night
to
keep
an
eye
on
my
younger
sister
Deborah,
the
rest,
as
they
say,
“is history”.
When
a
job
offer
came
up
in
a
developing
knitwear
firm
in
Oakham,
we
moved
with
our
newly
born
son
to
Rutland.
David
and
later
Lisa
spent
their
formative
years
in
this
market
town
and
we
all
became
very
involved
in
the
Parish
Church.
Because
Phillip
worked
many
hours
establishing
a
children’s
knitwear
business
I
was
the
main
carer
for
the
children
but
supplemented
our
income,
as
you
do,
by
turning
my
hand
to
child
minding,
cleaning,
factory
work
until
I
eventually
secured
a
job
on
a
Saturday
morning
at
the
Alliance
and
Leicester Building Society in Oakham.
My
exploration
of
ordained
ministry
came
as
the
children
were
nearing
the
end
of
their
primary
school
experience
and
in
1993
after
three
years
part
time
training
at
Queen’s
Theological
College
in
Birmingham
I
was
ordained
Deacon
and
served
my
curacy
in
Far Cotton, Northampton
It
was
a
privilege
in
1994
to
be
ordained
Priest
in
Peterborough
Cathedral
alongside
women
who
had
waited
for
many
years
for
this day to come.
In
the
Autumn
of
1995
I
was
licensed
as
Priest
in
Charge
to
three
villages
around
Uppingham
in
Rutland
and
shortly
after,
this
was
extended
to
become
a
benefice
group
of
six
churches.
After
eight
years
I
applied
for
and
was
appointed
Diocesan
Director
of
Ordinands
and
Director
of
Vocations.
During
this
time
we
lived
in
Stanwick
close
to
Wellingborough
and
I
travelled
the
distance
of
Peterborough
Diocese
working
with
men
and
women
who
believed
that
God
was
calling
them to a licensed ministry within his church.
After
serving
in
this
role
for
eight
years
the
Bishop
of
Peterborough
asked
me
to
consider
becoming
his
Chaplain
and
I
was
privileged
to
serve
in
that
role
for
several
years
before
returning to parish ministry.
It
is
a
delight
to
now
find
myself
serving
as
a
House
for
Duty
Associate
Priest
in
the
benefice
groups
of
High
and
South
Framland
and
living
in
the
Rectory
at
Harston.
Phillip
as
a
trained
Lay
Minister
(Reader)
will
be
licensed
in
the
Autumn
and
will
formerly
join
the
developing
Ministry
Team
which
is
facilitated
by
our
Priest
in
Charge,
David
Cowie.
Although
my
role
involves
two
days
a
week
plus
a
Sunday
in
lieu
of
living
in
a
clergy
house
my
ministry
of
vocation
and
Spiritual
Direction
also
grows.
In
our
spare
time
we
love
being
in
the
company
of
our
five
grandchildren
aged
between
9
and
4.
Our
granddaughters
live
fairly
locally
but
our
two
grandsons
,
Isaac
and
Adam,
live
on
the
Isle
of Wight so a great place to visit.
I
very
much
look
forward
to
serving
in
the
parishes,
finding
out
where
God
is
working
and
joining
in.
My
hope
and
prayer
is
that
over
these
next
few
years
we
can
find
ways
to
create
a
greater
sense
of
community
within
all
the
villages
and
for
our
churches
to
have
more
activities
beyond
traditional
worship.
That
we
become
welcoming
and
relevant
to
people’s lives.
