I am currently (I started in May 2017) the C of E Team Vicar for St Mary’s Little Parndon (off Elizabeth Way right next door to the proposed new housing estate being built right now!) working with Martin Harris at St Paul’s in the Town Centre.
The other part of my role is as Deanery Missioner which is to do with connecting churches in Harlow with their communities amongst other things! At the moment my focus for this is on the South Harlow Covenant area – mainly around Staple Tye, but the wider area would also include Water Lane.
In my previous parish in Stanford-le-Hope (Thurrock) I worked with all 5 of the local primary schools doing assemblies and was instrumental in setting up an “Open the Book” team (https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/get-involved/open-the-book/) in 3 of them. I also trained as a mentor and did some mentoring and a lunchtime support group in the 2 secondary schools in the parish and also helped to set up Prayer Spaces.
Before I became a vicar I was a teacher in the English Department at St Mark’s School in Harlow teaching Years 7-13 for 10 years. Before that I worked in special needs there for a year as an LSA. I was also a Form Tutor and ran a Fair Trade Cafe with pupils in the school as a social enterprise.
Prior to that I was a parent governor at Churchgate Primary, and worked with the elderly in the Godsafe Almshouses in that area, as well as continuing to run another social enterprise which some of you may remember; the fair trade shop in Old Harlow (Traders Fair World Shop) which had previously been operating as the Traidcraft Shop in the Latton Bush Centre. For a while we also had a shop in Colchester and an outlet in Tye Green Community Centre!
Even though we moved away for a time due to my ex-husband’s work, I have either lived or worked (or both) in Harlow pretty much continuously since 1987, and my daughter (who was born here) and son-in-law live in Church Langley, so coming back to Harlow feels like coming home!
I am very much looking forward to getting involved with Pemberley (both as your local parish priest and as a governor) and Water Lane as a governor; and I hope to learn a lot myself, but also to be a critical friend, a listening ear, and an advocate.