Mgr
Gregory Turner was born in Penrith in 1932. Educated at St Mary's School
and Kelsick Grammar School in Ambleside and went from there to study for
the priesthood at the Junior and Senior Seminary at Upholland and was
ordained in Lancaster Cathedral in 1958. He served as assistant priest in
parishes in Preston, Barrow, and Blackpool, and for nine years was part of
the Catholic
Missionary Society team in London. On returning to the diocese he was
appointed as parish priest of St Mary's, Morecambe and after ten years
there Bishop Brewer wanted him to be a Vicar General of the Diocese and
move to Our Lady's Carlisle in 1987.
X
Monsignor Canon
Peter
Verity, Priest
Peter Verity was born in Lancaster in
1948. He studied for the priesthood at the English College in
Valladolid, Spain, for six years and in 1972 was ordained in St
Joseph's, Lancaster. His first appointment was assistant priest in St
John Vianney's in Blackpool, where he remained for six years. In 1978 he
went to the Catholic Missionary Society in London. As well as giving
parish missions he also edited the Catholic Gazette and was
Director of the Catholic Enquiry Centre for four years. In 1984
he was appointed Assistant General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference
of England and Wales and then became Director of the Catholic Media
Office in London. After six years in this post he returned to the
diocese of Lancaster in 1994 as parish priest in Cockermouth. Three
years later he went as parish priest at St Anthony's in Preston where he
stayed for eight years. Following a short sabbatical in north Wales he
has been asked to develop a project in the diocese looking at new forms
of spirituality. He has been based at Our Lady & St Joseph's since
October 2006.
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Reverend Gib Harrison,
Deacon
Gib Harrison was born in Carlisle in
1947. He is married to Margaret, and they have two daughters, Emma and
Rebecca and two grandsons. Much of his adult life was spent in the Army.
He joined the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in 1971, and he left the Army in
1984. Fifteen years later he was ordained Deacon at Our Lady & St
Joseph's, exercising his ministry at first at Our Lady and St Wilfrid's,
Warwick Bridge, but moving back to his home parish four years ago he is
now one of our parish Deacons. Gib is still in employment, so his
ministry is limited to weekends and evenings. He was a musician in the
Army and still uses his musical talents.
X
Reverend John
Constable,
Deacon
John was born in
Athlestane Ford Mains in East Lothian on a farm where he
spent his childhood. His family moved to Penicuik where
he went to school. After school he went back to the
countrylife and worked on a farm for a few years until
he joined the Army, serving four years in the First and
Second Battalions of the Scots Guards. In the meantime
his family moved to Carlisle and after John left the
Army he, too, joined them in Cumbria.
In Carlisle he met Mary and they were married in Christ
the King Church in 1965. They were blessed with four
children, all girls, Diane and Lorraine (twins),
Jeannette and Lorna, and are now the proud grandparents
of five girls and five boys.
John worked for nearly
thirty years with the John Lewis Partnership, based at
Stead McAlpine at Cummersdale, starting out as a fork
lift truck driver and ending as a shift manager.
John, who was baptised in
the Church of Scotland, became a Catholic in 1974, and
in some form or other has always been active in parish
life - helping with the Youth Club, serving at the
altar, being a Minister of the Eucharist - just in time
for Pope John Paul's visit to Manchester in 1982. After
much deliberation John started training for the
Permanent Diaconate in 2002 and was ordained Deacon in
our church on July 6 2005.
