Review of Becoming Reverend – Matt Woodcock

PERHAPS it should become mandatory for Christians training for priesthood to keep a diary, from the arrival at the Bishops’ Advisory Panel to the moment the collar is in place and the hands are laid on at the cathedral. It would not be for the bishops’, or directors of ordinands’, eyes — rather, it could create a valuable record of the terror, excitement, despondency, frustrations, and joys of theological training.

Matt Woodcock’s diary entries chart his own adventures through training with verve, charm, and excoriating honesty (Feature, 11 November). His Yorkshire roots enable endless self-effacing and sometimes raucous humour…

Read the full Church Times review here (PDF)