Meet Rev. Aled Seago – Minister of Emmanuel Church, Cheadle Hulme

My name is Aled; yes I am named after Aled Jones, and no I cannot sing like him – good to get those questions out of the way early!

It is my privilege to be the minister of Emmanuel Church, which is part of the parish of St Andrews and Emmanuel Cheadle Hulme, in the Church of England diocese of Chester. I have been in post at Emmanuel since March 2023.

My name somewhat gives away part of my heritage. Though not born in Wales, I grew up in a small village situated in between Mold and Ruthin in Denbighshire in North Wales – you might recognise the names from A55 junction turn offs! I was brought to church and Sunday school from a very early age by my mum – she taught the Sunday school in our local village church every Sunday for almost twenty years!

I grew up therefore ‘assuming’ I was a Christian; I went to church, I knew my Bible stories, I’d been baptised as a baby and confirmed aged 11. However, looking back there was a huge disconnect between how I saw God, and how the Bible speaks of God. To me at the time, God was very much like Father Christmas: if I behave well, he’ll give me stuff. If I behave bad, he’ll punish me – not that that stopped me in my teen years from going down some bad roads!

It was when I was seventeen that I suddenly begun to re-evaluate everything I’d ever thought about God, the world, and me. I discovered that the stories I knew so well were more than just stories; and more than just abstract past events that had nothing to do with me in the present day. Suddenly a whole new worldview was opened up to me; God was, and is, the perfect Father I was seeking. Christ was my Saviour and my friend. In God I found, love, acceptance, and the much needed knock to my ego I desperately needed!

This process took me through my final year of high school and onto university in Lancaster, studying history. I got involved with a church and the Christian union, and it was there the idea of ‘working’ for a church and being paid to do all the fun stuff I enjoyed begun to take root. Of course, it was really important I think to experience life in the ‘real world’ and outside of the student bubble, and so I’m thankful for the time I spent working in a special needs school, a care home, and a publishing company.

From 2011 I begun working in churches. Two years at St John’s Hartford, and two years at St John’s Over in Winsford (working with Rev George Crowder, now Rector of St Mary’s Cheadle!) was an incredibly formulative time, and I was selected for ordination training. This took place at Oak Hill College in North London.

I was ordained in 2018 and following a curacy at St George’s Poynton and time as Priest-in-Charge of St Margaret’s and St Mark’s in Dunham Massey, I arrived at Emmanuel two years ago.

Funeral ministry has been a huge part of my time in the seven years I’ve been ordained. Being without a vicar in Poynton during the pandemic meant I spent a lot of time taking funerals and ministering to families. Even though it was the aspect of my vocation I was the most apprehensive about, it remains an utter privilege to get alongside people in their grief, to hear stories of loved ones, and offer the comfort I myself have received from God during turbulent periods of my life, to those in need.