Chaplaincy Assistants
Chaplaincy Assistants are usually considering a vocation to ordained ministry and spend a year with us as part of the discernment process. They work alongside the Chaplains and are responsible for many of the day to day practical tasks in the Chaplaincies across all of the King's campuses, and can be contacted by email.
The Chaplaincy Assistants for 2025-26 are:
Laura Connies-Laing
Laura is from London and read History at the University of St Andrews, graduating in 2023. She then worked in Cambridge for a year, while also studying part time at a theological college.
Most recently, she served as a Pastoral Assistant at a busy parish church in the Diocese of London, supported by additional work at the London Jesuit Centre.
She enjoys reading, journalling, experimental cooking and monastic retreats. Her eclectic interests range from exercise science to Victorian cemeteries.
Holly Douthwaite
Holly was born and raised in County Durham. She recently graduated from the University of York, where she studied English and History and was an active member of the Chaplaincy. Alongside this, she spent the last year as an intern in her local church, during which she ran a book study focused on the role of women in the Bible.
New to London, she is looking forward to embracing the culture shock and exploring all the city has to offer. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting, going to the cinema and collecting as many trinkets as possible.
Benjamin Norris
Benjamin grew up in Sussex and studied English at King's College London with a focus on Christian evangelism in Victorian children's literature.
He has worked in a variety of faith-based environments with considerable denominational range; as an archivist within a twelfth-century priory, a Bible-duster in a Strict Particular Baptist bookshop, and a corn-shucker in a rural Anabaptist colony where plaid was the order of the day.
In his spare time, Benjamin plays the organ, enjoys making jams and Midwestern baked goods accompanied by four-part harmony hymns played at very high volume in the kitchen, and has a penchant for Mennonite history.