Sheringham lay minister’s journey of faith

A double tragedy and a dramatic vision of Christ led to change in direction for Julie Rubidge who is now a lay minister in Sheringham.

For much of her early life, faith was little more than a distant idea for Julie. Growing up in a working-class family on a council estate in what is now Greater London, church was something her family only attended for christenings or weddings. 
 
That began to change when a leaflet arrived through the letterbox advertising “Sunshine Corner,” a Sunday school run by an independent church across town. Julie and her brother went along -mainly for the tea and biscuits - but found kindness and warmth that left a lasting impression. For over a year, they attended regularly before drifting away. “I had an idea that God did exist,” Julie recalls, “and at bedtime I used to ask God to look after us. But that was the extent of my faith.” 
 
Life continued apace until, in her late forties, two devastating losses upended her world. First, her boss of 11 years, whom she describes as a friend with a great sense of humour, died suddenly after falling into a diabetic coma. Just two months later, her father also passed away. “It was more than a double whammy,” she says. “I’d never lost anyone close before, and now there were two, one of them still young.” 
 
Julie left her job, taking time to grieve and to think. Questions about life and death - questions she had always pushed aside - came flooding in. “Where do people go when they die? Is there really a heaven or a hell?” she wondered. 
 
Determined to find out for herself, she picked up an old Bible and began to read. The language was difficult, but she persevered, working her way through the New Testament. “At some point I started to pray to Jesus and asked him, if he existed, to help me find God,” she says. “By the time I reached John’s Gospel, I was convinced Jesus was real, but I still didn’t think I’d found God.” 
 
Then came an experience that would change everything. Six months after leaving work, Julie was praying one day when she was suddenly overwhelmed by what she describes as a “vision of Christ in light like a bright diamond.” A gentle voice asked, “Will you come to my house on Sunday?” She wrestled with the message for three days. “I didn’t like churches - they gave me the shivers,” she admits. “But how could I refuse such an invitation?” 
 
That Sunday, she found herself walking into a small United Reformed Church. Only a handful of elderly ladies sat in the pews, and the service felt strange and unfamiliar. But the sermon that day, about the meaning of worship, spoke directly to her heart. “It was the answer to a question I’d been praying about,” she says. “I knew then that I couldn’t go it alone - I had to worship with others.” 
 
From that moment, church became a regular part of her life. Over the years she explored different denominations and took part in Alpha courses, deepening her understanding of the Christian faith. During one Alpha session focused on the Holy Spirit, she describes feeling “an unimaginable joy and love poured down from Heaven.” 
 
In 2004, she was baptised by full immersion - a moment she describes as “a profound experience, even more so than confirmation.” 
 
A year later, redundancy led to retirement, and she and her husband moved to Norfolk. During an earlier holiday, while visiting St Peter’s Church in Sheringham, she had prayed and felt “a wonderful, profound sense of peace.” It was, she says, clear confirmation that this church was where God wanted her to be. 
 
As she settled into the church community, Julie began volunteering, helping with teas, visiting local care homes, and assisting with Holy Communion. Eventually, someone suggested she might train as a Reader—now known as a Licensed Lay Minister. At first, she dismissed the idea, but the words “Feed my sheep” kept coming to her in prayer. Attending a vocations day in Norwich, she listened as a speaker said: “If you are not called to preach and teach, don’t be a Reader.” Those words struck her deeply. “My spirit vibrated,” she recalls. “I knew that this was my calling.” 
 
Despite doubts about her ability, Julie applied and was accepted onto the three-year part-time course. “It was a steep learning curve,” she says. “But the fellowship was wonderful.” In September 2011, in Norwich Cathedral, she was licensed as a Reader. 
 
Today, Julie continues to serve full-time as a lay minister at St Peter’s, preaching, teaching, leading funerals, running the church’s social media, and helping with administration. She has also served as sub-warden for other Licensed Lay Ministers in the area. 
 
Reflecting on her journey, she says she remains full of curiosity and gratitude. “I’m still learning, and I know I’ll never have all the answers—only more questions,” she says. “But I am ever more deeply convinced not only of God’s existence, but of God’s life in us and through us as we live day by day.” 
 
The photo shows Julie in St Peters, Sheringham taken by the Diocese of Norwich when she was licensed.
 

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