Rev. Martin Smithson
Superintendent Minister
Churches: Wantage, Childrey, Grove, Southmoor
Rev. Helen White
Churches: Didcot, Milton, Upton, Blewbury, All Saints
Mr. Jim Price
Churches: Wallingford
Rev. Steve Godfrey
Churches: Peachcroft Christian Centre
Rev. Martin Smithson is the Circuit Superintendent Minister. He also has pastoral charge for Wantage, Grove, Childrey and Southmoor churches.
Martin comes from Bedford, graduated from Durham University and trained for the ministry at Wesley House in Cambridge.
He began his ministry in 1981 in Manchester and has since served in two of the Leicester Circuits, North and Trinity, the latter as Superintendent for eight years, before moving to Wantage in 2005. He sees this as an exciting time for the Wantage and Abingdon Circuit as a number of churches adapt their premises to enhance our service to the community and our worship of God and as the Circuit sets out its priorities for the next few years. He also serves the District in a number of capacities.
Martin is married to Judith, who is a teacher. They have three adult children. He is interested in politics and tries to combine concern for the environment with enjoyment of cars!
Revd. Helen White has pastoral charge of Blewbury, Didcot, Milton, Upton and All Saints Methodist Churches.
Helen was born in Hull and has lived in various parts of the country. She trained first as a primary school teacher and taught in London for 4 years. Following training at Queen’s College, Birmingham, she started working as a circuit minister in 1998 in the South East Berkshire Circuit, coming to this circuit in 2005.
As well as leading worship and preaching, she enjoys spending time with people, leading Bible study groups and joining in with the Scouts and Girls’ Brigade when they do such things as sailing, climbing and cooking.
Outside of church life Helen walks as much as she can, reads copious amounts and squeezes in the odd jigsaw and cross stitch.
Mr Jim Price is Lay Pastor to Wallingford Methodist Church.
Born in Cheshire, Jim has since lived in Shropshire and Staffordshire. He is married to Ruth and has two daughters and four grand-children. He worked as a mechanical design engineer and also ran his own photographic studio before spending three years as Business Manager for a small Christian charity, Green Pastures, based in Poole, Dorset.
Jim became Lay Pastor at Wallingford in 2005.
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Hi, I'm Steve Godfrey the minister at Peachcroft Christian Centre. I came in September of 1998 after six years as a Baptist minister near Plymouth. I studied and prepared for ministry at Spurgeon's College 1988-92.
My wife, Anne, is a physiotherapist and we have two children, both still at school. Peachcroft Christian Centre is both part of the Methodist circuit and the Church in Abingdon of which I am involved in regular staff meetings and an executive. Being recognised and authorized by the Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists and United Reformed. I often find myself leading worship and preaching in Methodist churches.
What are my hopes? I want to see lots of people encounter God, grow in faith by the power of the Holy Spirit and find healing and wholeness - a Revival that has tremendous impact for the good of the whole country. Today, many people think Christianity is irrelevant, boring or untrue, well I want to see an end to much of the widespread ignorance about what Christianity is about. I want to see something of the life and growth touch the British church scene as it did in the time of two of my greatest heroes of the faith, John and Charles Wesley.