Changes Happening for Will & Gill

A 2025 update from the Briggs'

The time has come to make public some upcoming changes in our ministry lives that will occur over the next few weeks and months.


Firstly, we are pleased to announce that Gill will be ordained priest on July 5th at Sheffield Cathedral and will commence a part-time curacy at St. Thomas’ Philadelphia (affectionately known as Philly).

Gill has exercised ordained ministry as a distinctive deacon for the last fifteen years, in Tasmania, in the south of England, and here in Sheffield. It has been a long season of discernment to priestly ministry within the local and national vocation process. She is excited and expectant of the ministry opportunity that is opening up.

Gill will continue in her current role as part-time chaplain and tutor at St. Hild College and overseeing the 24-7Prayer-affiliated House of Prayer Sheffield as our community discerns the shape of the prayer-mission-and-justice journey ahead.

Secondly, Will will be leaving parish ministry (but not ministry itself!) and departing his post as vicar of the benefice of St. Timothy’s Crookes and The Vine Sheffield. Will has been in parish ministry, of various sorts, for 25 years, the last seven here in Sheffield. During this time the parishes have weathered the pandemic, have been united under a single benefice, and established effective new leadership structures.

As the year unfolds Will will be taking up postgraduate study as well as contributing to our HOP community and it’s development and being available as a resource to the wider church. His course of study will look towards investing and learning from a younger generation of Christian leaders, especially in places where faith comes with great adversity and deep roots.

This means that we will be staying in Sheffield for the foreseeable future, living in our current ministry home. All these changes will happen over the course of the northern hemisphere summer. We will farewell our church family with a service at St. Bart’s at the end of June. We have the gift of a break over the summer, during which we will travel and rest. We are looking forward to the season of new things following that.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our family moving to England as part of our lifelong faltering pursuit of God’s call. It is also our 30th wedding anniversary. It is good to mark these moments: All is grace!

During this journey, from time to time, we will be sharing prayer updates via email. If you’d like to receive them, sign up on this link here (not the substack subscription).

Prayer Updates: https://mailchi.mp/6415ec9ad9a8/sign-up-to-our-prayer-letter

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