A MARRIED couple are among 17 people from a diverse range of backgrounds to be ordained as priests and deacons this weekend

Emily and Mark Hudghton will be ordained at deacons during the same ceremony at Durham Cathedral on Sunday, July 2.

The couple, who have been married for five years, felt a calling to the ministry during their teenage years, a feeling that intensified after they met at the University of York.

Mr Hudghton will be based at St John’s Church in Shildon, while Mrs Hudghton will be based at Stockton Parish Church.

An English and related literature graduate, Mrs Hudghton went on to complete a postgraduate certificate of education at the University of Sheffield. She was also a youth work advisor for a church in York.

Mr Hudghton, the son of a vicar, studied for an integrated masters in computer systems and software, before securing a job at a technology company.

He said: “I felt God calling me to ordained ministry when I was 17. This sense of calling came in the form of a thought that I should be a vicar that wouldn’t leave me along and a sense of peace and excitement when I prayed about it.

“At the same time, despite not having said anything to anyone about it, quite a few people out of the blue started telling me that they thought I’d make a good vicar, that they felt God was telling them that’s what God wanted me to do.”