Get to know Revd Jennifer ‘Jenny’ Holden, our recently appointed Dean of the Diocese and the first female Dean in our 160+ year history.
As a prominent and well-respected member of the Diocese, Jenny’s appointment as Dean has been celebrated throughout the community. Alongside our Bishop, the Rt Rev Anne Dyer, we are also the first Diocese in all of Scotland to have a female Bishop and Dean at the same time – a special milestone for leadership in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Upon taking up her new role, Jenny reflected on her time in the Diocese so far and the honour of becoming our Dean. From her experiences as a layperson to her role as an Advisor to Christian Life, Jenny shares her story.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey through our Diocese?
I grew up in Northamptonshire, where I was baptised in the United Reform Church and became an Anglican through confirmation as a teenager. This was my way of claiming the Christian faith as my own. I was lucky enough to be mentored by some adults in the village church through my teenage years, helping me strengthen my faith. Music was a huge part of my life growing up – singing in choirs, playing the flute, recorders, and cello, performing in some major venues. I don’t get to play as much as I once did, but music is an important part of my life and my spirituality.
I initially moved to Aberdeen from Munich in 2012 for a job at the University of Aberdeen. Living in Old Aberdeen on campus, the first SEC congregation I encountered was St Ninian’s on King Street. I walked in, and immediately I felt at home.
It wasn’t long before I became involved in the church by joining the vestry, supporting communications, working with the students who called the church their spiritual home, and then becoming more involved in leading worship, including offering a reflection on scripture on Sunday mornings and a Sunday evening gathering with the same students.
When the Priest at the time left, I also got involved with the recruitment process for a new Priest, while being responsible for coordinating and leading worship during the vacancy. This was a unique opportunity to learn about how the church operates behind the scenes.
In 2014, after being in the Diocese for 2.5 years, I entered the discernment process and was selected for the full-time training route. After successful selection panels in Edinburgh and England, I left Aberdeen in September 2016 to train at New College, University of Edinburgh, alongside studies at the Scottish Episcopal Institute. I didn’t think I’d be returning to the Diocese at all, so it was a surprise when I met Bishop Anne for my second-year review that a curacy in the Diocese was mentioned. I’d been back and forth a bit during the three years in Edinburgh, but still had friends in the city and nearby, and most of my favourite coffee shops were still in the same places!
After serving my curacy at St John’s Crown Terrace, I was ordained a transitional Deacon in September 2019 and a Priest under COVID-19 restrictions in September 2020. I became involved in the Diocese as a member of the Diocesan Synod, then elected to represent the Diocese on the Scotland-wide Synod and other Scotland-wide boards and committees. Towards the end of my curacy, I applied for the Advisor for Christian Life post as it combined my interests and skills in teaching and training. I was appointed and began work in this role in February 2023.
The breadth and diversity of the Diocese is something I appreciate and enjoy working in and across. Churches with long histories in that place and others with less time in a location. For example, the congregations in Burravoe and Banchory are different as they are an island and a town congregation; they seek to serve their communities in different ways, but both seek to love God and their neighbour as themselves. I’ve lived in this part of the world for nearly 14 years, and I still never fail to be astounded by the beauty on my travels around the Diocese, noticing somewhere new, discovering a new place to be explored or walked. Exploring the world around us and making sense of it through space and time has been a theme of my life and continues today. I revel in exploring what makes a place what it is and how church congregations can explore who they are and what they might be called to do to share the love and light of Jesus in where they are.
I’ve spent time working in Zambia as part of my job and research for my PhD, looking at the impacts of using contaminated wastewater to grow food. This was part of the role that brought me to the University of Aberdeen in 2012.
What does it mean to you to be appointed Dean of the Diocese? How did you react when Bishop Anne told you the good news?
It is an honour to be appointed Dean of the Diocese. While yes, I was initially surprised to be asked, after careful discernment, prayer, speaking to my trusted friends and loyal mentors, I said yes.
As Dean, I have a renewed and greater responsibility to serve our congregations across the city, Shire, and Islands, and this is a responsibility I am eager to take on. And it’s not just a responsibility to congregations but our various churches themselves. Each building within the diocese is built on being welcoming and warm, providing the space to worship God and serve our communities in the best possible way. I am committed to upkeeping the churches and maintaining their proud histories – each one is a spiritual gift.
Likewise, I have a responsibility to make sure each church is sustainable for the future, so I’ll be working alongside the SEC’s Net Zero Committee to do this. Over the next few years, there will be projects, big and small, coming up for congregations to seek to be more sustainable in their buildings, whether worship spaces, halls, or clergy homes. The fifth mark of the Mission is to care for creation, so our net zero journey is fundamental to this.
You have lived all across the world, including in Africa and America. Have these experiences of living abroad and meeting new people across communities deepened your faith?
For me, moving abroad and choosing churches meant that I realised being part of the Anglican Communion was important to me. Although I was on my own, at the same time I wasn’t, and that signifies the importance of church as a family of faith. You are surrounded by people, some of whom may initially be strangers, who welcome you, support you, and give you space. You make choices and realise what is important in faith, tradition, and worship.
When moving away from home, there are choices to be made about how, when, and where we worship. I had to choose whether or not to continue worshipping, as well as finding the right place and denomination. These decisions helped me realise that going to church and being part of a community of faith isn’t something that I just did, but rather it was something that was part of me and important to life and who I am.
Being in places that aren’t ‘home’ without the usual support can be daunting, especially when you can feel like a minority, or you don’t know the local language. But in these situations, you find out what sustains and supports you. For me, that was realising that my faith is part of that – we speak of the Holy Spirit as the sustainer and sanctifier, and I’ve experienced that when life is not eas,y and you’re far away from your usual support systems.
As a Trinity Leadership Fellow in partnership with Trinity Church in New York, how important is our relationship with the Episcopal Church across the pond?
I really value being part of the Anglican Communion and being part of something larger and worldwide, where we can learn from each other, have familiarity far away from home, even if the language is different.
The Trinity Leadership Fellows programme is a testament to this, linking people who are informed by their faith in the Episcopal Church across the USA, and from other countries and denominations. When you travel the world, you realise Scotland can be a small place, so having connections outside is always good to help you value what is going on, to be inspired and challenged.
The connections between the Scottish and American Episcopal Churches are rooted in the history of the first Bishop after the War of Independence being consecrated in Aberdeen. However, in the twenty-first century, it’s about sharing our commonalities, encouraging each other and friendship. The visit of the Seabury Bishops prior to the Lambeth Conference was another sign of this friendship continuing.
Outside of your role within our Diocese, what are your interests and hobbies?
I’m a fan of good coffee and good coffee shops. Part of my ideal day off involves a good spot, a good cup of coffee (perhaps some cake) and a good book. The genre doesn’t matter much – I read widely and voraciously. Catching up with friends (virtually as well as in person) is important and often involves travel, combining many good things.
Music (of all kinds – I revel in eclectic playlists) remains important in my life, as do movies, both old and new, including some that are easily considered classics and others that are not. My favourites (aka things I return to again and again) include Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise series, The Martian, and Argo.