Seven years ago, Kathryn Turner travelled more than 300 miles to take up the post of Spirituality Coordinator at the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. It was, Turner says, “a leap of faith”.
Her post was created as part of a shake-up of pastoral care and formation in Hexham and Newcastle, which identified spirituality and formation as priorities. After a further reorganisation, Turner was soon heading up a new Department for Spirituality.
Trained as a primary-school teacher, Turner had started volunteering in her parish and the diocese when she left teaching to look after her children. She self-funded an MA in liturgy and then took a job assisting a religious order in setting up a retreat centre.
