In this series we will be speaking to Local Leaders to find out why they chose to take on the role and their journeys to that point.

Here Claire Burgess, Local Lay Leader at Colan, believes we all have a calling and is encouraging people to go out and explore theirs.

There are a number of different options within the diocese to investigate your calling, including attending Sens Kernewek – a place to explore ministry – which is the route Claire took.

Claire, who is also a multi-faith chaplain at Cornwall NHS Foundation Trust, believes there is a particular need for more pastoral ministers in the diocese. She says people are probably already using the skills they need for this role without realising.

Looking back at her experience at Sens Kernewek two and a half years ago, she remembers how it built her confidence and unveiled hidden talents.

“When you start at Sens Kernewek you don’t know what to expect,” she says. “But it is a place where you can feel God and have an opportunity to learn together as a group.

“You learn so much about yourself – I found that really good. You learn more about the bible and start to view it through a different lens.

“If people are interested in becoming involved in ministry but are not sure where to start, Sens Kernewek really brings everything together. I learnt lots about myself I hadn’t really thought about before.

“We are called to different things at different times of our lives, Sens Kernewek could be a stepping stone to something else, something new.”

Claire herself discovered a talent for poetry.

“I have never written poetry before, but the words just started flowing,” she says. “It was a pivotal moment. I wrote a poem that really struck a chord with everyone.”

This led her to self-publishing a poetic devotional on Amazon which reached the best seller in its category.

“It is still going strong now,” she adds.

She has since published more books which helped raise money for charity.

“It was through Sens Kernewek that God asked me to do something different.” – Claire

“It was through Sens Kernewek that God asked me to do something different,” she says. “I thought I would remain in ministry on The Roseland, but God had other ideas and released creativity in me.”

Claire has always had a faith – even if it has been a little quiet at times.

Growing up in Somerset, her Grandmother would take her to church every Sunday.

She remembers: “We had a wonderful priest there, he was a military priest and was Welsh. He sounded so poetic.

“When I was young, I was absolutely intrigued by the creed. The language was so different then. It was through the weekly reciting of the creed and the Lord’s prayer that I came to faith.

“When I was young, I was absolutely intrigued by the creed … It was through the weekly reciting of the creed … I came to faith.” Claire

“I was quite a curious child and a big reader. I had a child’s bible and my copy of the creed. God was so tangible to me. God was my mate, a constant. I felt he spoke to me.”

In her teenage years and early 20s, Claire ‘wasn’t really living my faith’.

“God was always there,” she says. “But it was like I was living two different lives. God was private.”

It wasn’t until she had children, and wanted to give them the same up bringing she had, that she returned to church.

As she spent time in the church community, she started to help with children’s ministry and has now been active within the Diocese of Truro for 35 years.

She says: “I am really grateful to those at the diocese, they have helped me explore my calling and they have used my skills. I feel really supported and am made to feel important to the life of the church.”

“I am really grateful to those at the diocese, they have helped me explore my calling and they have used my skills. I feel really supported and am made to feel important to the life of the church.” – Claire

Sarah Welply, Lay Ministry Development Officer  at Diocese of Truro, says: “I first met Claire back in 2018 when she attended a pastoral ministry training course, back then it was obvious how she wanted to come alongside and support people.

“It has been a joy to watch her discover and use her God given skills, not just in the ministry of the church and her leadership at St Colan but also in her work life too.

“Claire, along with many others, used the various courses offered by the Ministry Department to test out their calling and to learn new skills. As a result, we now have a large number of lay people actively serving their parishes and communities across the diocese and as a diocese we are truly blessed by their ministry.”

If you are interested in this ministry you can visit: https://trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/ministry/

or email:  ministry@trurodiocese.org.uk