Testimony - Rt Revd Cherry Vann

"As a child who was intensely shy, deeply introverted and hated the limelight, I was probably one of the least likely of people to become a priest, never mind a bishop. But God has God’s ways of leading us to where God wants us to be and shaping us for the work God wants us to fulfil."
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t believe in God. I was blessed to be taken to church from my earliest years and joined the choir as a youngster. I loved the music and the drama of the Eucharist through which God shaped and nurtured my faith.
My parish priest was a saintly man with a deeply pastoral heart who encouraged me in my faith and my Christian life. I grew up in a rural village where my parents gave me a love and appreciation of God’s creation and encouraged me to grow things in a patch of garden of my own. As a child, I found God in music, in worship and in the countryside around me.
At 18 I went to study in London and met others from very different church traditions who challenged my understanding of the Christian faith. I began to learn that it’s through our doubts and questions that we learn new things about God. God never lets us go, even through the darkest times.
I have always known myself loved by God, despite being told by the church that being lesbian is a sin. It is through loving and committed relationships that God has taught me so much. I have learnt to love even the parts of me that are the most unloveable; as God loves me. Through this I have discovered God’s healing and wholeness.
As a child who was intensely shy, deeply introverted and hated the limelight, I was probably one of the least likely of people to become a priest, never mind a bishop. But God has God’s ways of leading us to where God wants us to be and shaping us for the work God wants us to fulfil.