New DDO Announced

The Diocese of Salisbury has announced that the Revd Nigel Done, currently Vicar of Ilminster and Whitelackington in the Diocese of Bath and Wells, is to be its new Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO).

The Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury said:

“Nigel is an engaging and experienced parish priest with a heart for vocations and ministry. He has the capacity to relate widely and will help us continue to discern an increasing number of vocations and train new clergy to the highest standards. I look forward to welcoming him to the diocese.”

The Revd Canon Dr Jane Charman, Director of Learning for Discipleship and Ministry, said:

“Nigel has been an examining chaplain and an experienced training minister in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. He has a particular heart for the challenges and opportunities of rural ministry. We greatly look forward to sharing with him in the vital work of discerning and equipping the next generation of ordained ministers.”

The Revd Nigel Done said,  “I am very excited about taking up the appointment and am looking forward to being part of the Diocese of Salisbury.

“Being a Diocesan Director of Ordinands is a call that has been ripening within me for a number of years. I have been an examining chaplain, helping discern a potential call to ordained ministry with candidates in preparation for selection conferences.

“I am looking forward to working alongside the DDO team and the Assistant DDOs and playing my part in renewing hope within the Diocese.

“I am particularly excited about being part of this diocese with its particular focus at the moment on rural churches. I am passionate about creating sustainable roles for clergy in multi-parish benefices – and I won’t be neglecting our urban, suburban, and small town parishes.”

Nigel’s first passionate vocation was within the environmental industry as a consultant, when he felt God’s call towards ordained ministry.

He has spent his first twenty years in holy orders in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. He served his curacy in the Bath and Wells villages that hosted the Glastonbury Festival. He then spent ten years in the Hardington Vale, where he lived in Norton St Philip, not far from Trowbridge. There he turned a six church benefice into a single parish and simplified the structures to make it fit for mission.

Nigel then moved to his current post at Ilminster and Whitelackington where he has been for nearly six years.

He has had an associate trainer role with the Transitions in Ministry Group, and is an Associate Trainer with CPAS, in which role he helps to run Thrive learning communities, which are also part of the Diocese’s Rural Hope programme.

His hobbies include road cycling and making art.