Unafraid of life in the margins

The Revd Joanna Naish, who is Associate Priest at St John's Church in Tisbury, will be licensed as Chaplain to the Mother’s Union on 28th November 2019.

Jo says:

"I’ve always been in awe of the work done by the Mother’s Union - from the time I was a young mother with three lively children and our local group provided lunch and uncritical respite for us, to the times that they held us in gentle prayer and gave an oasis of peace from the business of the week.

"I am very much looking forward to the privilege of working with them more closely.

"There really is nothing that is too hard for them! Over the years, I have worked with teams that have taken the Virtual Baby project into secondary schools and seen the very real benefits that this brings young people; not just in developing parenting skills but in improving family relationships, exploring vocations and career choices and in helping students gain confidence in themselves.

"The MU provide such real support in this Diocese in their local parishes in prayer and in local groups, but also in their provision of help for those struggling; raising huge amounts of money and goods for the MU holidays, for the Women’s refuge, running the Court Café, and for very many other projects."

"They give assured and genuine welcome to all and they really do live out their faith in action!"

And speaking of action, Jo will certainly be launching straight into her new role:

"At the moment we are preparing for the 16 days of Activism to end Gender Based Violence #EndGBV and a special service in Salisbury Cathedral on Tuesday 3rd December," she said.

After studying Russian, Jo worked as a language teacher in Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.

She trained for the priesthood at Sarum College, was ordained in 2009 and served her curacy in the Parish of the Woodford Valley with Archers Gate, and then worked there and in Amesbury as Associate priest.

Jo moved to Tisbury in early 2017 with her husband Geoff; they have three grown up children. She is interested in art, history and music and loves being outdoors, spending free time walking whenever possible.

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