Revd Paul Eddy – Vicar

Paul became Vicar of the parish in 2013, and is married to Verity.  They have four grown up children.

   Paul started his working life in law, before working for a wide range of UK and International Christian organisations in the field of public and media relations, then running his own nationwide Public Relations Consultancy for over 20 years.  John Humphries, the legendary Radio 4 ‘Today’ presenter once described Paul on-air as “God’s PR”!

   Paul has been a member of the Church of England’s General Synod (it’s ‘parliament’) and remains active in national and global church affairs, mainly through the Church of England Evangelical Council, The Alliance and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches.

   In 2023, Paul was asked to advise the archbishops and bishops of the Global South attending the Lambeth Conference.  He took a week off work to provide daily press conferences for them and, to help them access the UK’s national media, often sharing the plight of Christians in persecuted countries.

   Paul is passionate about evangelism, and has also been a Bereavement Counsellor for over 25 years.  He can be contacted on 01367 710267, or [email protected].  He lives at The Vicarage, 24 Church Green, Stanford in the Vale SN7 8HU and is available by appointment.

Church Wardens

Churchwardens are elected by the Annual Meeting of Parishioners. Their term of office is one year, but this can be extended to up to six consecutive terms of office.

    They, with the parish priest, are responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the parish. Being a churchwarden involves:

• supporting the parish priest, and providing him with feedback;

• encouraging the PCC in carrying out all its duties, including cooperating with the incumbent in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical;

• trying to ensure that the incumbent is relieved of superfluous administrative and other tasks;

• encouraging people in their Christian faith and discipleship;

• helping to resolve disputes or disagreements amongst the congregation or with the parish priest, or with the local community;

• consulting the area dean and/or archdeacon for advice when any concerns arise.

    We are blessed in this parish to have two exceptionally hard-working and gifted churchwardens:  Maz Galley 01367 710211 / 07585 553883 - e mail:  [email protected] and Michelle Sinclair 07929 733429 - e mail; [email protected] .

Parish Safeguarding Officer – Mrs Liz Ward

Working closely with the PCC, the vicar and church wardens, Liz ensures that we maintain up to date on safeguarding ‘best practice’ and on DBS Checks for any volunteers who work with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.  Such volunteers also undertake safeguarding training related to their role at regular intervals.

  Liz meets with the vicar and wardens regularly to review the parish’s safeguarding policy (agreed annually by the PCC), to consider any pastoral issues as they arise, and liaises with the Diocese of Oxford’s Safeguarding Adviser for the Dorchester Archdeaconry, Mrs Erica Hegg as needed.

  Please see the Safeguarding section of this website  for more information.  Liz can be contacted on 07808 726780 or, via [email protected]

PCC Secretary & Electoral Roll Officer – Mrs Janet Warren

Janet’s administrative skills ensures that the PCC efficiently oversees and addresses the many legal and governance matters which charity trustees now have to undertake.  She also maintains the parish’s Electoral Roll, the closest thing the Church of England has to a ‘membership list’.  The Roll is fully revised every six years (2025 being the current review year) and is updated annually. Janet can be contacted on 01367 7100789 or, via email at [email protected]

 

Treasurer – Mrs Sue Penman

On behalf of the PCC, Sue manages the parish’s day to day financial records, providing regular reports to the PCC for review.  She also provides information to individuals on how they can give to the parish, whether as a one-off donation, via Contactless Giving, a Legacy, via Standing Order and/or Gift Aid. To contact Sue, email [email protected]

 

Verger – Mrs Sue Mayall

Sue’s responsibilities include preparing St Denys for Sunday and special services, including weddings and funerals.  She can be contacted on 07369 298360.