LIFE OF A DAY IN THE
THE VERY REVEREND MIKE KEIRLE THE DEAN OF JERSEY
Some questions for Mike
Question: What do you do to unwind at the end of a long day? Answer: I talk about my day with Emma, my wife, who is an amazing support and my best friend. If I’m really late back after meetings, I enjoy a good single malt whisky, listening to jazz or playing some music (I’m an accordionist!) and I love falling asleep in front of a Netflix series!
Question: What do you like the most about being a Dean? Answer: The privilege of meeting so many people from the Island and further afield from different walks of life and being there for them at particularly poignant moments. I like being part of a great team and supporting others in their roles, as well as some of the bigger strategic planning stuff.
Question: What do you dislike most about being a Dean? Answer: There isn’t much I don’t enjoy but I have to go to so many meetings!
Question: How did you become a Dean? Answer: Being ordained isn’t a job – it is a way of life, a vocation to serve God and others wherever God may call you to go. I’ve been ordained a Priest for 30 years and served in all sorts of different places – the UK, Zimbabwe, even Guernsey (sorry!), where I was a Vice Dean and then acting Dean during a vacancy. I gained a lot of experience in a wider supervisory and oversight role. I was then invited to apply to be Dean of Jersey and, after a fairly gruelling selection process, involving six interviews, I was sworn in on 7th September 2017 at the Royal Court.
Question: What advice would you give someone, either just starting their career or midway through their career, who wants to be a Dean?
I have always been an early riser so it’s coffee at 06.15 a.m. and then, come rain or shine, I walk the dog at 06.30a.m. , which is a welcome part of my day as it is sometimes the only exercise I get, as I spend a lot of time in meetings. One of the great things about my role is the sheer variety of things that I do. Depending on what day it is, I may sit in the States for the whole or part of the day, where I am Chaplain, lead the States prayers in French and, very occasionally, speak, although I do not vote, or I may be invited to take an assembly at a school or visit the prison, or a civic event over which I may be presiding or assisting, like Holocaust Memorial Day, the Battle of Jersey or Liberation Day.
I sit on a lot of charitable trusts too, so I help give our grants to various people who may have a particular need. Once a month, a morning is taken up with Roads Committee in the parish and a Parish Assembly in the evening.
If I’m not doing any of those things, I may be travelling to Canterbury, Salisbury or London for senior staff meetings or further afield to Kenya, where I am a Trustee for a Christian charity involved in community transformation. I also meet regularly with the Clergy of the Island, as it is my job to manage and support them in their respective roles and, as one of them myself, I also take weekly acts of worship in churches around the Island and in St Helier.
Like all Clergy, I visit people, take weddings, baptisms and funerals too. Most of all, I really like meeting people from all walks of life and hearing their stories of how God has transformed their lives.
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Answer: In my ordination to be a Deacon (your first year being ordained before being made a Priest) the service started with these words Deacons are ordained so that the people of God may be better equipped to make Christ known.
Theirs is a life of visible self-giving. Christ is the pattern of their calling and their commission; as he washed the feet of his disciples, so they must wash the feet of others.
My advice for anyone wanting to be ordained a Priest or Dean, a Bishop, or even an Archbishop - learn to wash people’s feet, metaphorically and sometimes literally!
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