Fern will serve his curacy at Holy Nativity Church, in the parish of Mixenden and Illingworth, North Halifax. He moved to Durham with Jemima, his cat, to train for ministry at Cranmer Hall, completing a 2-year diploma. Prior to ordination Fern worked as a development chemist in the hop industry after completing a PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Reading. In his spare time Fern enjoys scale figure modelling and painting, table-top gaming, reading (science-fiction, fantasy and history predominantly), and music – generally, the heavier the better.