January 2025
Like most priests, The Revd Jo Stobart has a busy life.
Jo trained for ministry at Sarum College and less than a decade after being ordained deacon, she was elected to General Synod as a representative for Bath and Wells Diocese and became a member of the Crown Nominations’ Commission. While all that was going on, she was back at Sarum studying for an MA in Theology, Imagination and Culture (she graduated in 2023). She is now vicar of Ilminster and Whitelackington, and Area Dean of Somerset South in the Bath & Wells diocese and in April will move to a new role as Chaplain to the Bishop of Exeter.
You’d be wrong, though, if you expect Jo to say she doesn’t have time to take a step back now and then.
“In terms of my own vocational journey, I have tried to prioritise and make space for learning and reflection,” she says.
“The chance to study for an MA at Sarum allowed me, post-ordination training, to place the learning I was doing in a parish into a wider theological framework. There’s always something to do (and often do quickly) in a parish – life today encourages the instant response. So, taking the time to reflect is, it seems to me, more important than ever.
“As a former teacher, sharing theological learning is a deep joy,” she adds. “Passing on what we’ve learned is at the heart of education, and I see this in how Sarum encourages its ministry students to learn by teaching others. That vision of continuing theological education was at the heart of why Revd Martin Little and I set up the Grassroots Theology Days. I’m looking forward to seeing how in my new role I can still prioritise and make space for theological reflection and learning, both as Chaplain to the Bishop of Exeter and on a personal level.”
Retreats, reflection and study breaks at Sarum College
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