CHURCHWARDENS from the 14 churches in the Ross Team Ministry in Hereford diocese were informed this week that their new female curate had previously been a man.

The Revd Sarah Jones was ordained deacon last summer by the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Anthony Priddis, who was aware of her past. She was given a round of applause by the churchwardens, when she appeared later at their meeting on Monday night.

Speaking on Wednesday, Ms Jones said that she had always been "very honest" from the moment she started on the route to ordination, but had not felt it appropriate to talk publicly about her sex change. She changed her mind this week, after a national newspaper started enquiring about her past.

Ms Jones said that, after years of confusion, during the time she had been Colin Jones, and been married, she finally underwent a social change in 1991, and had surgery three years later.

She said she was aware that it was a great deal for some people to take in, but that the reaction so far had been very positive. "I love my job and the people here. I had felt that to start talking about my own personal circumstances was not appropriate, as people come to church to worship God, or to see me as a priest. They did not need to be burdened with my details; and there was also the issue of my own personal privacy."

Members of the ordained and lay ministry team in the 14 churches had been told about her past before her appointment.

Ms Jones said that, as a Christian, she had never struggled with the fact she had had a sex change, although she was aware that some groups in the Church of England did not approve. "We all have various differences, and what I like about the C of E is that there are these debates, as with homosexuality and women bishops. It becomes horrible when people become nasty and aggressive." Ms Jones was originally baptised in the Roman Catholic Church.

She admitted that she had no idea what her future in the Church would hold. Legally, she is still a man, though in April she intends to apply for reassignment under the Gender Recognition Act. "Right from the start when I was considering ordination, I was very honest about my situation, and God led me through the whole process. I would like to remain in parish ministry."

A diocesan spokeswoman, Anni Holden, said there was a difference between privacy and secrecy. Ms Jones's privacy should have been respected, but she and the diocese had been left with no choice, after enquiries from a newspaper reporter.

Ms Jones, who is 43, studied for the priesthood at Westcott House in Cambridge.
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