JOHN O'Dwyer never really intended to become a "man of the cloth" but friends and work colleagues spotted his potential a long time before he did!

John has just been ordained deacon for St John with St Mark in Bury but his journey towards ordination started ten years ago.

In 1993, John had been a church-goer at St Thomas and St John in Radcliffe for six years and had become more involved with the church's Sunday school.

And when asked if he would become involved in the Christian Stewardship Campaign to help encourage people's faith, he said he felt a fraud.

He said: "How could I visit people and try to persuade them if I didn't feel it myself?"

So, to help him along, John agreed to attend a training event at St Peter's Church in Bury. It was there he decided he wanted to make a commitment to the church himself.

He said: "There were no flashing lights, just realisation."

It was the people that John worked with that started to notice the change in him, and they teased him that he would end up being a vicar.

He was ordained as a deacon in June, and started the job the following day!

John, who lives with his wife and three children in Mather Road, said: "At the moment I am getting to know the parish and the community. I have been meeting with the different groups that belong to the parish and so far it is going well."