A BUZZ of excitement was in the air as seventeen people from all walks of life gathered together ahead of being called to serve the church this weekend.

The candidates, who span all age ranges, were welcomed into the home of the Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, in Bishop Auckland, yesterday, as their final preparations for ordination are made.

In total, nine deacons and seven priests will be welcomed into the Church of England’s Durham Diocese with many services being held at Durham Cathedral on July 1 and 2.

Communities from as far as Gateshead to Stockton and as wide as Peterlee to Gainford are expected to benefit from the new deacons and priests.

Lesley Sutherland, who is set to be made a priest after already serving her year as a deacon, said she was delighted to return to the gathering this year.

The 55-year-old, who was a barrister for 28 years, has been serving in the parish of Cornforth and Ferryhill and said she was looking forward to continuing her work with the community.

“This last year has gone in the blink of an eye but I have really enjoyed my time as a deacon,” she said. “There’s a mix of awe and excitement and you’re ready in some sense and not in others and thinking ‘Hang on Lord why me? Do I really have to take the next step?’”

Deacon Sutherland said she was really looking forward to being able to preside over occasions such as baptism and weddings especially as she got her from God while getting married herself in 2005.

“I got a tap on the shoulder and God told to me on my wedding day,” she said. “I was not a Christian so it was very unexpected.”

Deacon Sutherland was joined by Frances Cooper, who is preparing for her own journey of faith and will be ordained a deacon at the weekend before joining the parish of Winston and Gainford.

The 60-year-old said she only started going back to church 12 years ago after suffering a marriage breakdown.

But it was the death of her brother in New Zealand and not being able to make the funeral that prompted her to go back to church where she got her call.

“I got ‘Goded’ and I started being practical in church becoming the treasurer and then a lay minister but really felt this strong spiritual change in me,” she said. “I was terrified; I could not believe God was calling me at my age but it does not go away.”