Father Matthew
Connecting Art and Faith
F
ather Matthew is the current Chaplain serving at Worksop College. His warmth, openmindedness and dedication to his faith make him a wonderful addition to the long line of Chaplains who served before him. However, Father Matthew’s passion for art is what sets him apart from Chaplains up and down the country. We spoke to him on why he thinks art has such a profound link to the Chapel. What number Chaplain are you at Worksop College? The first chaplain to serve at Worksop College was the Rev’d Hawkins, who started the role in 1896. Since then we have seen the completion of the magnificent St Cuthbert’s Chapel (1911) and over the past 125 years there have been many chaplains (all being Church of England priests). I moved here in 2019 from Southwell Minster and am the 27th chaplain to serve at Worksop College.
What was your route to faith? I was baptised into the Methodist church as a baby, but I quickly rejected religion, and for the first 15-20 years of my life I would’ve described myself as an atheist. I came to faith after attending ‘quiet days’ at a monastery in Yorkshire as a young man (I went out of curiosity and personal searching) and was confirmed Christian at the monastery at the age of 23. It felt like it was the start of my life, and it was the best decision I ever made. I didn’t really understand much about the faith at that time at all, but I knew in my heart it was right, and over time this has been proven true to me. A little later I trained for the priesthood and was then ordained in Wakefield Cathedral in 2009. After a four year ‘curacy’ (assistant role in a parish) my first responsible role as priest was in 2013 as school chaplain at Southwell Minster. I’m not here because of what I can do, but because of what God can do, and I want to share that as much as I can.
