Meet our team
Stretton Parish team
Our team spreads the love of God throughout the beautiful South Shropshire countryside.
I have been Rector here since 2019 and having grown up in Herefordshire it felt good to come closer to home!
Prior to ordination, I had various roles working in churches and supporting churches, including as a Parish Youth & Children’s Worker in Worthing, Short-Term Mission Co-ordinator, and later Discipleship Adviser for CMS (Church Mission Society) and working for Christian Aid supporting Churches and Dioceses. I trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge and served my curacy in Oxford Diocese.
A legacy of my work at CMS is that I am a Trustee of Kimbilio, a project that supports vulnerable street children in the Democratic Republic of Congo and have spent time in DRC on various different occasions. I am married to Lindsay and we have three daughters.
Before moving to the Welsh Borders with my farming husband, I was Rector of Shelswell Benefice and Area Dean of Bicester and Islip in the Diocese of Oxford. Prior to ordination I worked in the healthcare sector in a variety of roles. I served as a Non-Executive Director at Wye Valley NHS Trust between 2014 and 2022. I currently also serve as Rural Dean of Condover and Prebendary de Wellington at Hereford Cathedral.
I have been in URC ecumenical ministry since training at the Oxford and St Albans Course in 2001. Whilst serving in Wiltshire I was also Associate Chaplain to the Military. Previously I worked for 22 years in secondary education including a time at sea on a schools cruise ship. It is a privilege to serve God through supporting and encouraging the people at St Michael’s in their worship, faith, prayer life and outreach to the village. I am a member of the Ministry Team and work with Parents and Toddlers at St. Laurence’s.
God very much led our move to Church Stretton in October 2015 and I feel very blessed to now serve the families and children in this parish.
I am married to Mark and we have two children and two gorgeous grandchildren. We love exploring the local hills when we are not working on our house.
I was licensed as a Lay Reader in September 2018. I attend St Michael’s Church and take services there and at Stretton Hall Care Home and St Laurence’s. I am a member of the ECC. In the 1980s I taught at Church Stretton Primary School before living for 18 years in NSW Australia during which time I served as a Licensed Lay Minister.
After I retired from the world of education and made the move with my husband Mark from Wolverhampton to Little Stretton in 2015, I discovered a warm welcome here in Stretton Parish. There are so many opportunities to serve and praise with the various different congregations, and I also enjoy being part of a Life Group. In my leisure time I enjoy gardening and walking in our beautiful hills.
God has blessed me in so many ways, and it is a privilege to serve him in the role of Churchwarden.
I have worked as the Rector’s PA since 2010, a role I really enjoy. I work from an office in the Parish Centre, just opposite St Laurence’s Church. I am married to Steve and we have three adult children. In my leisure time I enjoy exercise classes at the leisure centre and walking in the local hills.
Linda and I moved to Church Stretton in 2015 from West Sussex where we’d lived for 30 years. I spent most of my working life in the finance department of a Christian radio charity. I was also treasurer of an evangelical church in Worthing for many years, as well as for a few other smaller Christian charities. My hobbies include technology, model railways and caravanning.
Safeguarding
We moved back to the Stretton area in 2004, after farming in Leicestershire for 18 years, where I led an organisation supporting families with young children who were facing challenges (Home Start). Back in Shropshire I worked for Shropshire Council for 13 years as a Social Worker and Team Manager in children services across the county. For the last 6 years, prior to my retirement in 2023, I worked with the Diocese of Hereford covering work across the Diocese around issues of social justice. It is a privilege to serve God across the Parish in this beautiful area. I am married to Mike and we have 2 daughters and 4 grandsons.
Stretton Parish PCC
Moira Matthews
Deputy Warden
All Saints
James Foster
Deputy Warden
St Laurence's
Ben Roberts
Dan Robinson
Lorraine McCrohan
Anne Braddick
Cathy Watson
Graham Shuttleworth
Gail Dyer
Deanery Synod
Mike Edmunds
Deanery Synod
Sarah Robinson
Deanery Synod
Andrea Graham
Deanery Synod
