Naomi Starkey is a priest in the Church in Wales, serving the churches of the Bro Padrig Ministry Area in north Anglesey, and also working more widely as a pioneer evangelist. The landscape of low hills, scattered farms, and small villages is bounded by a coastline designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are ample opportunities for Naomi to use the Welsh that she began learning in 2010 as a hobby, long before life brought her from London to Wales and a career change from publishing to church ministry.

Her years of editing, writing and project management with BRF have proved invaluable in a variety of ways as she preaches, shapes liturgies and facilitates small groups with the small but energetic congregations of Bro Padrig. She has also relished developing new resources making use of the rich local history, including the story of how the oldest church – Llanbadrig – was founded by St Patrick himself! In her spare time she enjoys exploring the mountains of Snowdonia with her husband Andy, and occasionally playing the violin.

We asked Naomi about her new series of reflections for New Daylight, Image of the invisible God (Sunday 11–Saturday 24 April 2021).

What do you enjoy/value most about writing for New Daylight?
I love the opportunity to help people engage more closely with the Bible – finding fresh insights in a familiar passage or getting to know a part they’d never read closely before. I also enjoy the challenge of distilling my thoughts to fit the word count!

What inspired your series on ‘Image of the invisible God’?
The inspiration came in part from days I’ve spent wandering the North Wales mountains and reflecting on how many ‘creation’ images the Bible uses for God. We tend to speak of God as ‘Father’ but it’s thought-provoking to realise the wide range of Biblical descriptions.

What did you learn from writing it?
It reminded me how God is not a ‘man’, something it’s too easy to forget! Humanity is made in God’s image – and in Jesus we truly see the ‘image of the invisible God’ - but the breadth of Biblical imagery for God can be a huge help in deepening our wonder and worship.

What is the key thing you hope your readers might take away from the series?
I hope that the next time they see a sunrise or listen to the wind - or even pick up a pebble, it might bring to mind something of what I have written and help them glimpse just a little more of the character of our God.

Download Naomi Starkey's notes from the January–April 2021 issue of New Daylight or learn more about our the Bible reading notes series below.

Download Naomi's reflections