“Study keeps me hopeful”
“Study keeps me hopeful”
Samantha Martell is an Anglo-Catholic priest in the Channel Islands, about to start the second year of her MA with CMS Pioneer Mission Training. Samantha talks to us about rural island pioneering.
by Helen Harwood,
HH: Samantha, can you tell us about your context where you work and live?
SM: I serve as vicar of Alderney, the northernmost of the Channel Islands. It’s a small, close-knit community of around two thousand people – which during Alderney week and around August swells to double that!
We are unique and picturesque with a rich and sometimes painful history. Life here can be beautiful, but also quite isolated, with challenges around food insecurity, poverty, and limited resources.
The church sits right at the heart of island life, not only as a historic building but as a living presence. My role is to hold together the deep sacramental rhythms of the church with the very real needs of everyday life in a rural, island context.
I know you want “the richness of the sacramental life accessible and meaningful for all, not just the few.” And you told me, “For me, pioneering, mission, and study are all about holding together tradition and transformation.” Can you explain more about that? Especially as the vicar of Alderney, drawing deeply from your Anglo-Catholic roots and recognising the need to reimagine how to do church in a small, rural island context?
My Anglo-Catholic roots mean that the sacraments, beauty, and depth of worship are central to who I am as a priest. But for me, that isn’t something to be locked inside the sanctuary. Tradition is the anchor, but transformation is the sail.
To truly embody the gospel, we have to find ways of making the life of the church accessible and meaningful for those who may never walk through the door on a Sunday morning.
On Alderney, that means taking the richness of worship and community life and reimagining it in ways that resonate with island culture – whether that’s through cafe-style gatherings, puppets and praise, outdoor services, or community projects like our new initiative, Ground in Grace.
You told me mission here has to be “…deeply relational and responsive – shaped by the real needs of the community, from isolation to food insecurity.” Can you tell us more about that?
Yes. Mission here isn’t about programmes or numbers; it’s about people.
Many on Alderney experience loneliness, especially in the winter months. Others struggle with the high cost of living and limited access to food.
So, mission must begin with listening – listening to people’s lives, their struggles, their hopes.
Out of that listening, the church can respond with compassion and creativity.
Sometimes that looks like worship, sometimes like pastoral care or spiritual care such as Anna Chaplaincy and sometimes like practical support. It all belongs together.
How does pioneering mean being willing to step beyond the building, into gardens, community spaces, and partnerships?
Ground in Grace is our new pioneering project. It’s part forest church, part community allotment, part gathering place. We’ve started with chickens, a growing space, and plans for shared meals.
It’s church – but in a form that meets people in everyday life. It blurs the lines between sacred and ordinary space, showing that God is at work in the soil, around the table, and in community.
Pioneering means taking risks, stepping outside familiar structures, and working in partnership with others – schools, local government, voluntary groups – so that faith is lived out in tangible, hospitable ways.
You’ve said studying with us keeps you “grounded and growing – constantly listening to God, scripture, and context so I can respond with integrity and imagination”. Can you tell us more?
Studying has been a gift – it keeps me rooted in scripture and tradition, but also constantly stretched by new perspectives. It gives me time to reflect, rather than just react, and that means I can serve with integrity.
Most of all, study keeps me hopeful. It reminds me that God is always doing a new thing, that transformation is possible, and that the church’s future – even in small and fragile contexts – can be full of life.
Samantha, how can we pray for you?
Please pray for resilience and joy – for wisdom to serve faithfully, and for the courage to keep stepping into new places of mission.
Pray for Alderney, that this island may flourish in spirit, community, and care.
And pray for our church, that we may be both deeply rooted in Christ and open to the movement of the Holy Spirit.
