Guernsey Press

Methodist looking forward to extended stay in Alderney

THE Rev. Elizabeth Bellamy, Alderney's Methodist minister, is extending her stay on the island for another three years.

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She came out of retirement at the end of August 2015 to lead the church in the island, which is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey Methodist Circuit, and will now stay on until summer 2020.

'When I first saw the advertisement that the church put in the paper for Alderney, the sense of calling hit me between the eyes and I had to answer it. I suppose that sense of calling is still there, the need to serve Alderney.'

Despite a strong pull to ministry, Ms Bellamy had to initially embark on a career as a history and social sciences secondary school teacher, as women could not, in the late 1960s, enter the ministry.

After being ordained in the 1970s, she worked in parishes in Norwich, Ipswich and north Norfolk.

Has she been made to feel at home in Alderney? 'That's a silly question,' she smiles.

'I love the friendliness here and the way people affirm you and support you in whatever you try to do,' she says.

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