Name; Christopher Paul Thomas
Place of birth; Swansea, South Wales
Date of birth (if you are happy telling us!); 24th March 1969
Where do you live and work at the moment? I am parish Priest of Corpus Christi, Clifton in Nottingham and Chaplain to the University of Nottingham
What made you want to become a priest? I wanted to bring the presence of Christ into people’s lives, by celebrating the sacraments, preaching the Gospel and trying to be a good imitator of Jesus himself. It was a bit of an ideal to live up to, but I am still working on it!
What is the most rewarding thing about being a priest? Being with people at the most precious times in their lives and being close to them and the Lord in them; like being with them in the joy of a birth of a baby and at its baptism, journeying gently with someone who is dying into the life that the Lord promised us. What a privilege!
What is the most difficult thing about being a priest? Living and working in a world that often closes its heart and mind to the possibilities of the power of the Gospel to free, heal and transform life. It can be frustrating.
If you were God for a day, what would you use your power to do? Being God, I cannot be God for a day since this is inconsistent with my being since “I am”; so perhaps I could become God for a day using my power. Then having become God for a day (which is silly since I cannot “become” since “I am”,) I could then tell you, if were God of course, which “I am not” – then again I could let the sun shine everywhere with great love so everyone has a nice day.
Which living person do you most admire, and why? My mother, because she has taught me the reality of self-giving love in her life, which I try to imitate.
What is your most treasured possession? My ordination cross given to me by a friend; it had been a priest’s cross for about 100 years.
Who would you have play you in the film of your life? Daniel Craig
What is your favourite smell? Roast lamb and potatoes with rosemary
What is your favourite word? Perichoresis
Which four people would you invite to your dream dinner party? Tony Blair, St Ignatius of Loyola, the woman caught in adultery (from John 8), Hilda of Whitby
If you could go back in time, where (and to when) would you go? Jesus’ tomb just before the resurrection – I have always wondered how God did it! (It’s one of my questions I’m going to ask him when I die!)
How do you relax? By not thinking about work.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Surviving seminary
Where would you most like to be right now? The Sea of Galilee – I have just come back from there and think the land in which Jesus lived is a wonderful country.
