Published on: 06/02/2026
Revd Tracey Morris is heading for pastures new as she prepares for her next adventure in Canada.
Tracey is currently Priest-in Charge of St Columba’s, Authorised Minister of Stephen Hill Methodist church, and Oversight Minister in the H4 Mission Area. Her last service will be on Easter Sunday before she moves with her husband to Vancouver ahead of him starting a new job there.
Tracey was ordained at Sheffield Cathedral in 2019 and did her three-year curacy at St Luke’s Lodge Moor before heading to Crosspool in October 2022.
We’ve been chatting to her about the next steps she’s taking:
How does it feel to be heading to Canada?
The answer to that depends on the day, even the time of day that you ask me! Absolutely I feel excited. We love Canada, particularly British Columbia where we will be living. It is such a gorgeous place to be, with incredible scenery and wildlife, and a real diverse mix of great people. We also have friends there, so it is going to be so good to be able to be closer to them. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. It does feel a bit unreal and when reality does hit from time to time I question it. But this is something that we have been wondering about since we got back from living there for a year. I guess if you don’t give these things a try then you only regret it. We are also going to miss family, friends, and church community so much. It will be really hard to say goodbye. We are hoping that we will get lots of visitors!
What are your hopes for this next step of your ministry?
I am trying not to have too many plans, which is a bit unusual for me. I am hoping that we will find a church that we can feel at home in and that I can eventually get involved with in some ways. I will, at some point, look at transferring to the Anglican Church of Canada. I am hoping to get back into working with homeless people and possibly some chaplaincy, maybe some kind of mentoring within ministry. For now, my plan is to get there, settle the dog in, and give God lots of time to guide me to whatever is next. I don’t want to lose what I’ve learnt, and I am still a Priest so my call is still very much there, but I don’t want to jump into anything too quick. God has got me this far, I am sure God will guide me to the next thing.
What are some of your favourite memories from your time here in the Diocese?
Ok, so some of these I’m not going to tell you because they involve close friends and ordination training antics. But what I can say is that I have made such wonderful close friendships with people who have supported me unconditionally throughout my time in the Diocese. My ordination to the Priesthood will always be one of my favourites though. It was in Sept 2020, during lockdown, and there was a whole weekend of ordinations, with two ministers at a time being ordained. I love the Cathedral any way, it is one of my favourite places, but to be ordained there under these circumstances, in this way was so special. The amount of effort that everyone took to make every single service as special as the last was phenomenal, it was life-changing in more ways than I expected.
The Crosspool community came together really well during Covid. Tell us a bit more about that
The community are so forward-focused, it’s fantastic. Now, I hope I have this right because I wasn’t there when COVID happened. They had already agreed to be in a covenant relationship and were doing some things together. When lockdown hit their reaction was “what can we do to help the people of Crosspool.” So, they set up a hub for people to contact them if they needed help. They then offered St Columba’s as a vaccine centre and had stream of volunteers helping out, from both within the church and in the Crosspool community. When the time came for worship services to be back in the building again, the vaccine centre was in full swing at St Columba’s, so the church community decided that they would all worship together in Stephen Hill. So shared worship became even more part of their normal worshipping life. From there they have gone from strength to strength, and now they all worship together as one congregation, every Sunday. Last year things have taken another positive step with the decision to do all aspects of church life together, including governance, unless there was a good reason not to, whilst keeping to their denominational governance and commitments. They truly are one church together.
What are you going to miss the most from St Columba’s and Stephen Hill?
That’s easy, the people! They are such a beautiful community, and I am so proud of all they have done. They are genuinely welcoming and caring people who want to support each other and the community around them. They also care deeply about what goes on within the church and around the world. For me personally, they have given me so much love and support, it is going to be really hard to say goodbye. We have had some great laughs together, and they have put up with my whims and humoured my ideas with such enthusiasm. They have held me up when I’ve fallen over, been by my side in difficult times, and kept me going when I’ve run out of steam. They will always have a place in my heart.
What message do you have for your successor at Crosspool?
You are one lucky person! Spend time with this church community, listen to them, trust them, pray with them, work with them, and love them. They have so much to give. Embrace their differences as much as their similarities. God has given them a call, and they know what it is. Help them to continue to be the people God wants them to be, help them to continue to grow and to thrive, and don’t be afraid to be creative.
