Over the last decade and a half, Mr Charmley has served at a host of Guernsey’s parish churches, remaining a consistent presence through many clerical fluctuations. But, at long last, he has determined that the time is right for him to move on to other pastures.
‘It’s been good, and leaving won’t be easy,’ he said.
‘Saying goodbye to folks after that length of time will be a challenge.’
While Mr Charmley has now been a working rector in Guernsey for many years, his path to the priesthood was not entirely straightforward. From an early age, he felt himself called to ministry in some form, but he did not immediately set out on his parsonical pursuit. Instead, it was only after spending a number of years in a lay job that he yielded to that long-sensed call and began his journey to ordination.
‘I think from round about the age of 14, I had felt called to serve God,’ he said.
‘I went on a week away at a Christian camp, and one of the times, whoever was preaching to the teenagers was preaching about a sense of being called by God to serve. There were hundreds of us sitting there, and I felt like I was the only one in the room. I felt like everything was being said directly to me.’
Throughout his late teens, Mr Charmley became increasingly set on pursuing youth ministry, and, after he earned his BA in theology, he spent his time doing voluntary work with children and families and working towards a teaching qualification. It was only then, finding that route dissatisfying, that he began to wonder if his vocation was ministry.
Even then, on advice from his diocesan director of ordinance, he hesitated, working for several years selling cars while doing youth ministry on the side, before making the eventual resolution to go in for a pound and pursue ordination.
‘I went to see the vicar and said, “Do you know what? I think this is where I might be being called.” And he turned around and said “About time too”.’
A few years on, having been a working priest for a little over five years, Mr Charmley was made aware of a post becoming available in Guernsey and decided to pursue it.
The post, at that point, was for a rector of St Saviour’s Church with additional responsibilities for the Forest, although, as he recalled, most of the Forest services at the time were taken by the Rev. Linda Le Vasseur.
However, it was not long that he enjoyed that position, as three years into his service, he was given the responsibility for four parishes.
‘The rector of St Peter’s and Torteval retired, so in April 2013, I became rector of four parishes,’ he said.
‘How? Well I used to jokingly say I ran quick, but it was a challenge. I had a team of people – Adrian Datta was my curate, and my wife was on the team and I had a few other people as part of it, but people were leaving for different reasons and it was a real challenge. And it wasn’t sustainable.’
After some three years juggling the duties of the four parishes, Mr Charmley requested some respite from the bishop, who relieved him of caring for St Peter’s and the Forest, and leaving him with St Saviour’s and Torteval where he has remained rector ever since.
Despite that trialling period of time, Mr Charmley said that his experience of working in Guernsey has been balanced with many a fond memory.
‘There are so many things – so much of island life I’ve been involved with,’ he said.
‘I was an attache for the Island Games, which made a fantastic few weeks of being involved with such an amazing activity and such a brilliant team of people.
‘I’ve led Liberation Day services and, on a number of occasions, I’ve been part of the cavalcade. There have also been things like the royal visits – the link that Guernsey has with royalty I think is a lovely thing, and I’ve really enjoyed that.’
As well as the island’s special events, the regular events in church life are equally as fondly remembered.
Mr Charmley picked out the Torteval Scarecrow Festival and the annual St Saviour’s Revel as some of the highlights of his time on the island.
However, he said, it was not the events that he treasured most, but those memories of the people who he has known over his 16 years of service.
‘For me, it’s about the people. The nature of this job is that I’ve met so many people over the years, and I’ve really enjoyed that,’ he said.
‘Having been here 16 years, I’ve seen eight-year-olds become 24-year-olds, so they’ve grown from children to teenagers into adults, and some have now married and baptised their children. So, for me, being part of that journey with all sorts of people has been one of the greatest pleasures, one of the greatest honours.’
Rev. Charmley is set to take his final service at St Saviour’s Church at 10.30am tomorrow, before he moves on to a post in the UK where he looks forward to being in close proximity to his wider family.
