Mark Thomas, vicarMark Thomas, vicar

vicar@stchadschurchshrewsbury.com

To view Mark's imminent commitments follow this link to his diary.

Mark Thomas has been priest in charge of St Chad's and St Alkmund's churches since September 2001, and Vicar of the new united benefice of the two churches since 2008. He was made Rural Dean of Shrewsbury in 2009. He also conducts ministry reviews for the Lichfield Diocese, and has been a member of General Synod since 2007. He is a Patron of the Shrewbury Summer Season Arts Festival, and of Shrewsbury's Darwin Festival, and started the St Chad's Darwin lecture in 2002. He is chaplain to Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, St Chad's being the town's civic church. He is married to Keri, who is a doctor and national clinical lead for end of life care, and they have five children. Previously Mark was Team Rector and Rural Dean in the Wakefield Diocese, and an Honorary Canon of Wakefield Cathedral.

Chris Walker, Assistant PriestChris Walker, Assistant Priest

chris@stchadschurchshrewsbury.com

Chris Walker began his ministry in 1970, cutting his teeth in a largely down-town, slum-clearance area in Portsmouth. After that two years in semi-rural ministry near Cambridge was a time of emotional recovery. He then worked with the Revd Austen Williams at St.Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square. This was the defining period of Chris’s life, in which his understanding of life and faith came to be earthed. Moving to parish ministry after that was not easy and his time at Sevenoaks was a sharp learning curve with lots of mistakes and pastoral upheavals. During this time he met Penny - now his wife and mother of their two daughters, Emily and Sarah, and Chris’s stepson, Dominic. Chatham in Kent was his next parish and then Chislehurst on the edges of London from where he retired in 2005.
God lives amongst the strugglers, the seekers, the lost, the failures - those on the edges and margins of life - and has always been a particular magnet for Chris. Humanity is God's stamping ground! Finally, music and walking are central in his life. Chris is an explorer by nature, and not easily satisfied with apparently simple answers.

David Leeke, director of musicDavid Leeke, director of music

davidleeke@stchadschurchshrewsbury.com

David Leeke has been Organist and Director of Music at St Chad’s since 2006. He is responsible for all aspects of the church’s extensive music programme and is Artistic Director of the annual St Chad’s Music Festival. He is also Conductor of the Shrewsbury Cantata Choir and a Senior Examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music as well as being Chairman of the Royal School of Church Music in the Diocese of Lichfield. David grew up at St Chad’s, having been a chorister here under the late legendary Sam Baker before studing at the Royal College of Music and spending over twenty years in Kent in different musical roles. He enjoys driving and reading and a pint of good beer in a traditional English pub!

David Tudor,
Development directorDavid Tudor, Director of Development

development@stchadschurchshrewsbury.com

Following the successful start to the St. Chad’s fundraising campaign, we have appointed David as a new development director to carry forward the project. With a long established record of work for charities and the community he is well known in Shrewsbury and more widely in the county. David said that he was delighted to have been appointed and is looking forward to the challenge which lies ahead. Commenting on his role,he said, “St Chad’s is the Civic Church serving both town and county and is one of the most iconic buildings of Shrewsbury, beloved by Salopians everywhere. This Grade I listed round Georgian Church is the only remaining one of its type in the country and as such, unique. It is visited by large numbers of tourists throughout the year and is Shrewsbury’s largest and acoustically best concert venue. We have a duty to future generations to ensure that it is preserved and maintained. Furthermore we have a duty to serve the community of Shrewsbury in the 21st Century at the same time and to ensure that we have enough revenue to do so.”

Lesley Hall, Children &
Families workerLesley Hall, children and families worker

children@stchadschurchshrewsbury.com

Lesley grew up in Wells, Somerset before qualifying as a teacher and her family are still based in the South West. Towards the end of her career spanning 32 years in Telford and Shropshire she was a Head Teacher until she left the profession to join VSO. (Voluntary Service Overseas) She took up a placement in Benishangul Gumez Ethiopia as a Leadership and Change Management Advisor working towards School Improvement – what a title!
She says "My whole way of life was challenged in those 30 months and I realised how easy my world had been. The struggle to survive, to get a basic education, to ward off illness, and to gain entitlement to water, food and shelter are not exaggerated. Life there is not cushioned yet I felt privileged to be part of it. ‘Have bucket will travel’ really happened along with many other wonderful experiences. I have returned to the UK with a totally new perspective on life." Lesley joined St Chad’s on December 1st 2009 as our Child and Family Worker. ‘Push Chair Praise’ and other areas of work are included in our Youth Activities page.

Nicky Matthews, administratorNicky Matthews, administrator

info@stchadschurchshrewsbury.com

Nicky Matthews joined St Chad’s as part-time administrator in 2004. Her previous position was as supervisor at a Calor Gas centre, where she ensured that all enquiries were warmly welcomed. Her role at St Chad’s involves taking care of the administration and day to day running of the church, working closely with the priest and church wardens. She is available to help you make arrangements for weddings, funerals, baptisms & confirmations. Nicky has lived in Shropshire all her life except for a short spell in the RAF, where she quickly realised that her free spirit did not quite meet the criteria of being a good ACW! Being married with a young family takes up most of Nicky’s time, although she does try to keep fit, in between running her son to football matches and her daughter to dance classes.

David Bromilow,
Churchwarden Anne Flint,
Churchwarden Tina Richards,
Churchwarden Penny Walker,
Churchwarden

Church Wardens - 2011/2012

The church of England describes the role of a churchwarden as extremely varied but best described as management, maintenance, and ministry. Management refers to the churchwarden's relationship with the clergy, the PCC and the members of the congregation; maintenance refers to his or her responsibilities to look after the church building; and ministry refers to their pastoral role with regard to the parish priest and to the congregation.