Anglicans ordain Normandy priest
Former aviation engineer makes history in October by becoming the first Anglican priest to be ordained in Normandy
A FORMER aviation engineer who took up a new career path in the Anglican Church is set to make history this month when he becomes the first Anglican priest to be ordained in Normandy.
Peter Hales, who worked for British Aerospace and was an Anglican lay reader in St Neots in Cambridgeshire, found out about the small Anglican church in Coutances in the Manche when he met two retired priests while on holiday in the region seven years ago.
When he retired in 2005, Mr Hales said he received “an offer I couldn’t refuse” to move to France with his wife Pippa and become the church’s lay reader, helping out with the regular services which draw a congregation of English-speakers from all over Normandy.
With a “parish” that covers an area about 100 miles by 50, it has been a very different experience to a traditional local church.
The services are ecumenical – designed to appeal to a broader range of religious disciplines – and the congregation includes Catholics, Methodists and United Reformists.
“That little group I found out about in 2002 has grown into quite a substantial church over the time,” he said.
“It’s a huge area we serve, and the congregation has quite a few French people in it. A lot of French in the area have worked in the UK and they bring their friends along.
“When I was working for British Aerospace I did a lot of foreign travel and was stationed in Qatar for a while. I started an Anglican church there, so I’ve got a lot of experience of running an ecumenical church abroad.”
The services in Coutances are now formally recognised by the Anglican Church, and Mr Hales has completed the theology training needed to be officially ordained as a priest.
Clergy from Brittany, Paris, Brussels and the UK are expected to descend on the town on October 3 to welcome him into his new job.
For more details about the English services, see www.christchurchcoutances.com
