SATURDAY 3rd July was a very special day for Westbury Reverends Steven Baggs and Jennifer Totney.
The two Reverends, who have been ministering with the White Horse team over the past months, were ordained as priests in a service at Salisbury Cathedral. A special coach was put on so that members of Steven and Jennifer’s Westbury congregations were able to be at the service to support them.
Steven and Jennifer were among 24 people being ordained, and the service was also a special one as they shared in Bishop David’s last day as Diocesan Bishop, after his 17 years in the Diocese.
Steven explained, “In the Church of England you get ordained twice; we’ve both been ordained as deacons, and now we’re getting ordained as priests. It means you can celebrate holy communion, the main service in the church, and can consecrate the bread and the wine. We can also now lead weddings.”
Before the ordination, the two Reverends went away on a retreat near Dorchester for three nights. Following the ordination, Jennifer celebrated Holy Communion for the first time at All Saints’ Church, while Stephen celebrated at Holy Trinity in Dilton Marsh on Sunday 4th July.
Steven said, “Jennifer and myself came to this point from very different places. I have worked for the church for a long time, in the missionary organisation of the Church Army.”
Over the last two years Steven has been part of the White Horse team as community outreach officer, a role he will now continue with.
Jennifer is the curate with the White Horse Team. “I started my theological training four years go – I went to college in Cambridge for three years, and before that there was the process of selection in the church to get to that point,” she explained.
“This year, I’ve been in Westbury, which has been much more full-on practical training and ministry. Now it’s incredible to think I’ve got to this point – it’s a very significant point to reach. In many ways my role will stay the same, but doing those jobs in a different way, as a priest.”
