Before Miriam Davis’ current role as an Assistant Curate for her local church, St Philip and St James in Hucclecote, Gloucester, she spent decades serving in Japan with OMF International. She returned in 2018, and three years later she started serving locally at the very church that supported her as a mission partner.
Miriam’s connection with St Philip and St James began in 1995 when she was on home assignment from Japan. At the time, she had no permanent home in the UK, but the church provided financial and prayer support for her mission work until 2018.
In 2003, she bought a flat in Hucclecote, just a five-minute walk from St Philip and St James – a step that would eventually contribute to her calling to ordained local ministry.
Miriam said: “I had worked for some time in Japan before I started with OMF; I worked with the Church Mission Society and in secular teaching in Japanese schools. I spent 31 years with OMF, starting in church planting with a missionary team focusing on evangelism, discipleship, and teaching, and latterly working with a Japanese church and pastor.
“Preaching, teaching, and speaking in Japanese became second nature, but after 41 years in the country, transitioning back to life in England was challenging.”
It was during this period of adjustment, from 2018 to 2021, that her vicar posed a life-changing question: Why had she not pursued ordination? Having already trained as a Reader, she was performing many of the roles of an ordained minister.
“I didn’t really believe that there was an option to be ordained. It just didn’t seem realistic, at the age of 65-66,” she said. After 18 months of prayer and reflection, she reached out to the central diocesan team. From there, her path to ordination unfolded, though it was delayed due to Covid. She was finally priested in December 2021.
For Miriam, returning to serve in the same church that had once supported her mission work has been deeply meaningful.
She said: “It’s a tremendous privilege to be able to serve and get to know a church that supported me for so many years. I have found so much joy in reconnecting with people and also meeting new members.
“When I am walking or cycling to church, or just going to the local shops, I tend to meet people who I have had contact with through my work, particularly with funerals. I have started to lead second or even third funerals for the same families, and that ongoing relationship is a privilege.”
Her experience with OMF International continues to shape her ministry, particularly when she connects with people from international backgrounds: “My heart is drawn to people from other countries who have joined our church. My passion for local and global mission remains in the heart of what I do,” she said.
For those considering ordained local ministry, Miriam said: “I quote from Narnia (with God in place of Aslan), ‘let us go on and take the adventure God sets before us’. Every stage of life presents new opportunities to serve. Go at the speed of joy.”
Miriam has written a book about her faith experiences in Japan – find out more here.
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