St. John’s Youth member Lily Christopher recently interviewed Rev. Edward Thornley on his background, how he came to St. John’s, and the role of teens in the church. Here is their conversation:
What do you want the kids to call you?
I like to be called Father Ed by the church.
When did you decide to become a priest?
I decided to become a priest because I felt a sense of calling when I was 15 and felt like it was the best career for me.
Did you have other careers in mind?
I had other careers in mind such as jobs relating to film, creative writing, or music. I play guitar for fun. I also used writing skills to write my thesis on religion and film. I try to be imaginative when reading the bible and presenting it to others to include creativity. I was a teacher before being a priest when teaching in a high school where I did academic work in theology. I also worked for 2 years in catering on one of the royal estates. I learned about kitchen, bar, and cook work, also learning how to count money. It was really fun and interesting, but pretty random!
Do you like working with kids?
I absolutely love working with kids. I was a full time school chaplain for 6 years and also a university chaplain. I worked with students for 15 years and really enjoyed conversing with young people and talking to them.
What was the best part about working in schools?
The best part of working in schools was being around people and students and teachers all the time. I got to do interfaith work and connect and learn about people with many different religions.
How can you make church more engaging for teens?
I try to think about how I can relate to people's experiences through the sermon that day in church. The church can also grant more opportunities to be social with peers. I enjoyed church because I made friends and expanded my faith greatly. The church provides more opportunities to interact and go further into Christianity. Faith works differently for everyone. Teens should be open with their priest and not afraid to doubt and challenge things that they believe.
Do you have any new ideas for youth group?
I plan to better Youth Group by having the teens create new worship services and having young people have a say in what they do. I also want them to feel free to use the church as a gathering for birthdays or parties. I also think service learning through charities or helping the community could really make youth group more fun and beneficial.
How do teens benefit from going to church?
Teens should go to church if they sense that God is doing something in the world, have an interest in exploring faith with friends and people who care about each other, or to connect with people with common interests. They benefit by making friends, knowing God on a deeper level, and talking about things that matter to them.
What attracted you to St. John’s?
I was attracted to St. John’s because of the service learning and being proactive and how much people care about the town. With the service learning it includes the Appalachian Service Project and Free. that many from the church have been involved in. I also believe the church is doing its work well by expanding the worship styles and mixing contemporary and older ways of learning.
What are your thoughts on community outreach?
Community outreach is really important. There are four key parts of outreach including worship, education, care, and community. Worship is going deeper into the bible, education is bible studies and learning, care includes pastoral help and reaching out, and community is service and connections socially.
How are your cats adjusting to Hingham?
Sphyro and Duke are loving the rectory and are glad they get to roam around a bigger area.
Do you have any book recommendations?
I recommend Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, which I read when I was 16 by recommendation. I read it when I was studying philosophy. It’s about two people who are caught in another dimension which is in a book. They have to use different modern and ancient philosophers’ teachings to escape. I really like ghost stories and horror movies, my favorite being The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. It tells the story of a haunted house in the English countryside with a group of people solving the mystery behind it.
When was the last time you laughed really hard?
I always laugh really hard at Sphyro when he gets into his adventures. One time, he crawled underneath a chest of drawers and couldn't get out. He then started to make a high pitched cricket sound. When my wife and I tried to get him out he wanted to stay!
Are you on social media?
I am on Instagram, Facebook, and X. I work on St. John’s Facebook page as well with updating the posts.
Lily Christopher is a member of the St. John’s High School Youth Group.