One night watching TV, Clare Negreira felt God was sharing his plan for her life through a series of snapshots on screen.
A programme about the Windrush generation, a programme she had been wanting to watch for a while beforehand, featured moments and people from her past. She saw images of a church where she had served as a churchwarden, the children of a GP she had worked for as a midwife, and a doctor who she worked with for a decade.
She said, “It showed snapshots of what I have done in my life, and what I have been part of. He showed me that all that has happened in my life was of huge significance and was part of His perfect plan. I’ve never had an experience like that before.”
Psalm 139:16 – “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
The rest of the day had been a series of images and situations that had helped to build to this profound sense of calling to ordination.
Her day began with a church service. The preacher was talking about the narrow path we all follow, describing the Severn Way with a river on one side and brambles on the other. Clare, however, could only picture a wide, open path. She felt God saying, ‘put your feet wherever you want’.
After the service, she volunteered at a local food bank where she encountered a woman she had worked with as a health visitor. They caught up with each other, and the woman mentioned a vacancy for a practice chaplain at her new health centre. In that moment, Clare felt in her heart a powerful sword-like feeling, signalling her towards ordained ministry.
But God’s plan has not always been so easy to see in Clare’s life and she has had her share of pain and sorrow. In 2017, when her husband died from after many years of heart failure, Clare’s faith was tested and she felt alone.
She said: “We had plans to grow old together. We worked so hard over the years to have a happy retirement, to support our children and grandchildren.”
During her husband’s final year, Clare leaned heavily on her faith and the support of nursing teams, learning to trust God and fulfil her roles as wife and carer.
“The dreams I had with my husband weren’t what God had planned, but meeting my husband was an amazing thing”, she reflected. “He was Spanish, I met him when I was a student nurse in London. He came from a completely different background to me. I learnt about emotional giving in relationships from him. I know why God sent him to me. I won’t forget him, and he is always there.”
After his death, she moved to St Catharine’s Church in Gloucester, where she found an unconditional welcome and a supportive community. She has worshipped there ever since.
A few years on, Clare embarked on a 150-mile walk from Camino to Santiago de Compostela, near her husband’s birthplace, in September 2021. Clare found both companionship and solitude on this journey. Each day, she prayed using the Psalms of Ascent, experiencing a deep connection with God.
“I had a really profound time with God and my faith became extremely strong. He was very much with me throughout the whole journey. We would be having conversations as we walked. There was always a deeper connection taking place, being close to creation and the countryside.”
Speaking about her training, she said: “Sometimes it has felt like being on a 5-lane highway, driving every car at 100 mph. It has been tiring but brilliant.
“I’m in a place right now where I’m quite apprehensive, but I’m also full of joy. I have four words that have been important: Trust, obedience, awakening, and transformation.”
Clare feels a strong calling not only to ordination but specifically to serve at St Catharine’s. “Most people change churches when they become ordained. I feel that He wants me to continue my work there, to carry on making space and meeting people wherever they come from.”
Clare’s ordination to priest at St Catharine’s is set for Advent this year.
Keep an eye on the front page of the website for details of ordination live streaming this weekend.
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