Punk rocker joins the priesthood

Bishop Michael with the newly ordained priests

In the line-up of new priests ordained at Gloucester Cathedral, one woman is certainly different from the traditional image of a vicar in the shires.

Things have moved on since simply being a female priest in the Church of England was unusual: the fact that 12 women and seven men are the latest recruits to the Gloucester Diocese is testament to that.

But Skye Denno certainly turned heads when she first arrived as curate at St James The Great Church in Dursley last year.

Her lifestyle - she dresses unconventionally, likes clubbing, pubs and punk music - might have traditionalists tut-tutting, but mother-of-two Skye says she knows she was born to serve God. And she reckons her family and friends knew she'd become a priest before she did.

Interviewed when she became curate Skye said she didn't deliberately set out to shock when she went out in hot pants and biker boots with her dog collar.

Keep it real

She told the Citizen newspaper "I don't do it to be difficult, it's just me. I think God has chosen me because I'm me, not because I am a woman.

"It's important for me to keep it real and not be another stuffy, middle class vicar."

But speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Richard Atkins the day after her ordination, Skye Denno admitted she has toned down her image a bit - including her once-vivid choice of hair colours.

"It's black at the moment. In my line of work you have to be sensitive, you don't want to put people off too much," she said.

"The call to priesthood is a call to holiness, so in that calling and that journey over the last few years there has been a sense of having to rethink lifestyle and behavioural choices, in the same sense that all of us going forward for Christ's ministry need to look at our lives.

Holy Spirit

NEW PRIESTS The full list of new priests ordained into the Gloucester Diocese on June 7, 2009 were: Christine Birkett (Berkeley with Wick, Breadstone and Newport) Yvonne Brae (Cheltenham, St Michael; Cheltenham, St Luke and St John) Jean Brown (Lechlade) Arthur Champion (Badgeworth, Shurdington and Witcombe with Bentham) Sue Cox (Bourton on the Water with Clapton and The Rissingtons) Tim Curtis (Cheltenham St Mary with St Matthew) Skye Denno (Dursley) Janet Faull (Cheltenham, Christ Church) Debbie Forman (Churchdown, St John the Evangelist and Innsworth) David Gardiner (North Cheltenham Team) Leonora Hill (Charlton Kings, St Mary) Gillian Hubbard (Gloucester St Paul) Denise Hyde (Fairford and Kempsford with Whelford) Rachel Rosborough (Charlton Kings, Holy Apostles) Steve Taylor (Highnam, Lassington, Rudford, Tibberton and Taynton) Marion Williams (Gloucester, St Catharine) Tony Williams (Bream)

"Yes, I think things have needed to change but at the heart of me it's still the same."

Of her feelings at her ordination Skye said: "I really had a very distinct sense of the Holy Spirit.

"The whole service was very emotional and all of us felt the Spirit leading us, and when Bishop Michael put his hands on us there was a change, yes, there was a difference.

"It's something I felt called to do a long, long time ago and now I'm finally here."

How do Skye's friends and family - husband Joel and children Sophia and Phoenix feel about her becoming a fully-fledged priest?

Quirky

She says: "This is not a surprise, they knew this is what God called me to do, probably before I did.

"My children love it here and it's very natural for them to be here and see their Mum doing something she loves.

"They've settled very well into Dursley, it's been a very welcoming community and has been amazing to all of us."

And just how HAVE locals reacted to Skye's 'alternative' look and outlook?

"They haven't batted an eyelid really. Janet (the Rev Janet Bromley, rector of St James) is a bit out of the ordinary in her personality so they're used to slightly quirky clergy."

Serving

The 17 new priests are the largest number ordained at Gloucester Cathedral since Michael Perham became Bishop.

He says the high number reflects the organisation of the Church in the 21st century, with fewer full-time stipendiary clergy and more who work part-time or in an unpaid capacity, fitting their religious responsibilities round other commitments.

Bishop Michael said: "Ordaining new priests to support their congregations in sharing the Christian faith and serving God's world is one of the great occasions for me, especially so when there is a record number of candidates and each them with wonderful gifts to offer."