Meet Rev Wendy Martin
It is wonderful for me to be joining the ministry team in Shirley Parish as a part-time, self-supporting, Associate Priest and I look forward to meeting you, worshipping with you and joining in with what God is doing in Shirley. I am dyslexic and find remembering names difficult, so please don’t be offended if it takes me a while to remember yours!
I was born in Surrey and greatly enjoyed a 36 year career as a nurse, midwife and midwife lecturer, in London, Hertfordshire, Surrey and Sussex. At 24 years of age I spent 6 months in Israel caring for a new-born infant in a high-profile family. This enabled me to travel within Israel, New York and Egypt and participate in an archaeological dig in the Golan Heights afterwards - all formative experiences.
I attended Church of England schools and chose to be baptised and confirmed aged 13. I was brought up in a non-churchgoing, single-parent family with three sisters, and fell away from church attendance as a teenager. I returned, aged 28, as a result of a warm welcome when seeking marriage in a Methodist Church. I began to learn to follow Jesus by listening to sermons, being part of a homegroup and helping to run the church creche. After ten years, as a result of attending a Christianity exploratory course, I understood more fully who Jesus was, what He had done for me on the Cross, and made a deeper commitment to follow Him. I began to pray and read the Bible more. I felt very inadequate when, within a year, I felt Jesus, calling me to preach and ‘shepherd his people’. I began the long journey, for me, towards ordained ministry, as a Methodist Local Preacher.
Now, 24 years later, while life has been very tough at times, God has been faithful and ‘an ever-present help in times of trouble’. God has encouraged, sustained, healed and provided for me, and my family, through much adversity. For this, I am eternally thankful. I have learned much about different Christian spiritualities and churchmanships and have trained to be a Spiritual Accompanier. I am an Associate of the Iona Community and try to live within a Rule of Life which includes simplicity, sustainability and contemplative prayer. I am passionate about helping others come to know Jesus for themselves, helping to develop their faith and sharing the abundant love God has for all people. I am also passionate that our churches should be welcoming and accessible places for all, whatever their background, gender identity, dis/ability, ethnicity and sexuality. The pronouns which I use are she/her.
Following a call to Birmingham, I have been here 10 years now, and live in Ward End, not far from Heartlands Hospital. I was ordained Deacon in 2019, priest in 2020, and served my curacy in Garretts Green. My two sons live in West Sussex, and this October, I will become a Grandma for the first time! I enjoy my self-employed work as a Companion to Older people very much, and for relaxation, my interests include, exploring new places, researching my family history and making greeting cards.