An Introduction.... to John Goodridge

I have been asked to write a pen picture of myself as a way of introduction before I come to All Saints to lead worship.

I am 58 years of age and was born in St Anne's Bristol. My father and mother were both active Christians, my father being a Licensed Reader in the Clifton Deanery.

I moved to Hanham in 1958 when my father became ill and died of cancer. On moving to Hanham I immediately joined the choir at Christ Church and remained there as choir boy/man, server and Lay Minister, being licensed in 1978. I transferred to St Michael the Archangel in August 2005.

I was eighteen when I first felt called to ministry and after speaking to my incumbent, I went to see the then Director of Ordination who advised me to go away and get some experience of life and some qualifications. As I said in the Bristol Evening Post, I put everything on the back burner, but in 2005, God turned up the gas. After 40 years I was eventually ordained Deacon on 1 July 2007, as a Self Supporting Minister having gone through three years of theological training on the West of England Ministerial Training Course.

I have been married for thirty four years to Pat, we have two children, Claire and Philip and two grandchildren, Bethany and Thomas. I was for many years a Building Society Manager until I was made redundant in 1991, when I joined the Employment Service and worked for three years in Kingswood Jobcentre and later transferred on promotion to Bath and subsequently Regional Office. I currently work for the Pensions Service as a Customer Liaison Manger, covering Bristol, which involves visiting customers in their homes, Care Homes or Hospitals to assist them in the completion of various benefit/allowance applications and giving relevant advice.

About 7 years a go Pat became seriously ill with a condition called Scleroderma, which was life threatening and underwent a stem cell transplant, which certainly stopped the disease in its tracks, but left her with residual health problems. During this same period I was diagnosed with cancer, resulting in some major surgery, which caught the cancer in time.

Soon after these life threatening events in our lives, I felt an even stronger call to serve God, which was soon affirmed by three other people, another Lay Minister. Choir Leader and my own son. So again I went to see the Director of Ordination who after six months of preparation and study sent me to the Bishop's Selection Conference held to test my calling. After three days of tests and interviews, I was informed a week later that I had been accepted, although I had already started my training.

Part of the Ordination training is all about Ministerial Formation, where one is shaped and formed hopefully to be an effective minister and priest. Before my selection and training, I felt like a maturing tree being blown by the winds of life. After what I have gone through I now feel like a lollypop stick!
Ministry in today's society is not easy and is certainly a challenge, but with the help of God, the support of my wife and my Church family I know that these challenges will be made easier.

See you soon. Blessings, John