Sue Jenkins, the tall, lovely English lass who is Director of Family Ministry here at St John's, began life on July 6, 1979 in Argentina, where her father worked as an engineer. The family, including her older sister, soon moved back to England, to Little Neston, an old coalmining village in Cheshire.
Very early on, Sue began to exhibit the enthusiasms that she has carried into
adult life. She was a tomboy and always loved sports. She still bears the
scar from a trampoline fall in preschool. She loved English country dancing.
At 13 she was the only child in her father's clay pigeon shooting club and
she was chosen for the Cheshire team (although she did not pursue this).
The formation of Sue's deep religious faith, her cosmopolitan viewpoint, and her strong sense of herself and others as unique individuals had many roots in her childhood. Her father worked in many different countries and Sue remembers traveling at age 7 or 8 to Egypt and Dubai. At this tender age she began to be aware of the vast differences in privilege among people. Some scenes of extreme poverty were stored away in her mind. Sue's mother was a nurturing person, working as a caregiver at nursing homes and hospitals and schools for the disabled (interestingly Sue's mother learned Flemish at a private school in Belgium). Sue's mother took her to Anglican Sunday school until the age of 8. After that, though she did not attend Sunday worship again until age 16, Sue always maintained a strong connection to youth groups and later to youth leadership.
From the ages of 11 to 16, Sue attended Secondary School. Surprisingly, she endured frequent bullying from a group of girls and boys from another village. Sue was viewed as an outsider who did not value being "cool". She also suffered from dyslexia. Sue took refuge on the sports fields or in the art room. Thus began her passionate interest in art. These dark years also reveal a surprising graciousness and generosity in Sue's inner life. She explains why she did not tell anyone about the abuse. She felt that she had the mental and physical strength to endure, and that if she told, then another person would have become the target. Sue's astrological sign is Cancer, and she says she has a hard outer shell but a soft inside. Eventually the truth was discovered by the school, and they put an end to the bullying with the help of Sue's mother.
Sue continued her journey through teenage as a gentle but strong non-conformist. She was confirmed in the Church in her early teens but was described as unlikely to remain in the Church because she was always questioning. However Sue found answers to her questions about meaning through discussions with friends and through her experiences with the mystery, beauty, and order of the natural world in the countryside near home and in summers on the Isle of Wight. She became a truly committed youth leader at 16, planning Sunday night services and attending diocesan camp. She also worked two jobs (waitress at a Chinese restaurant and clerk at Tesco's food store) while completing two years at Blacon Art College in Chester, specializing in three dimensional design and technology including electronics. She loved the freedom to express herself in any medium, be it glass, ceramic or wood. On a visit to London she loved the African exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum but hated the brusque rudeness of city life.
Sue says she went to university "to prove that I could". At University of Central Lancashire in Preston, Sue studied three-dimensional design in tableware—teapots, cutlery, plates, and lighting (such as free standing lamps). She chose to do her first metal work because it was totally new for her. She continued working at Tesco's all year and lived away from home for the first time, in "halls" (coed residence with 11 other people).
Upon graduation in 2000 Sue did two years of management training at Tesco's but eventually found that her true calling lay in work with young people, something she had suspected since the age of 16. She eventually moved home to Neston because of changes in the company and the shortage of youth work in Preston. By 2002 her Saturdays were filled with planning for diocesan youth events. This brought her into contact with a diocesan officer who was setting up a course for youth workers at the University of Chester. Sue initially did not see how she could manage work and university at the same time, but fate intervened.
By September 2002 she was still living at home but enrolled in the course, with tuition paid by the Church. Sue describes the three-year course as "awesome". Sue had both church-based and secular work experiences. There was a lot of collaborative learning. She worked with some very difficult and challenging groups of alienated youth, whose lifestyle included drugs, alcohol, vandalism and personal violence. She had failures and successes in building relationships. Though her faith was always central to whom she was, Sue was never there to convert but always to assist. She thrived on the challenges and welcomed them. Graduating in 2005, Sue cashed in some savings and determined to work and travel in Canada. Fate intervened again.
On the day that Sue found the Diocese of BC website, a fortune cookie told her she would take a pleasant trip to a place far away. She went home and phoned Ian Gibbs, Diocesan Youth Ministries Coordinator. Harold Munn was not at the clergy conference that followed soon after, but mysteriously he came into possession of Sue's resume. St John's was the first Canadian church to contact Sue. Everything began to fall into place. Though she had concerns about the size of the city (Sue dislikes urban life) and Victoria's British image (she wanted something different), Sue's father's friend was available to transport all her belongings here and brought her more information about Victoria. The "deal" seems to have been clinched when Harold met her briefly in London during the time of the underground bombing. Sue's liking for Canada has continued to grow and, as we know, she has applied for landed immigrant status.
We are gifted with this wonderful young woman. She describes her goals as giving the youth tools for reflecting on life and helping them to understand how the Bible is still relevant through contemporary images and metaphors. She assists them to find faith relevant to whom they are as unique individuals.
In your giving to the Work of God through SJD, keep in mind the Youth fundraising for the Trip to Iona, 2009. Watch for SJD clothing – gift items for friends and family that support their work and make you look smart and warm.
