Articles - From Rev David Paton-Williams

Greetings to everyone at St Edmund's,

I have been asked to write something to let you all know a little bit more about us, so here we go.

I am married to Jenny and we have two adult sons Edward and George. I was ordained in Durham some 21 years ago and spent my first six years working in parishes in South Shields and Newton Aycliffe. I then moved to Ripon to become the chaplain of the Ripon Campus of Ripon and York St John and a minor canon at the Cathedral. Ten years ago we moved to Bedale where I have been the rector of two (and now three) parishes, Bedale, Leeming and Thornton Watlass. Bedale is a small market town with a strong sense of community and has been a good place to bring up our two sons. For eight years I was also the Link Officer for our Diocesan Link with Sri Lanka which I found absolutely fascinating, giving me a much wider perspective of the world church and the issues of poverty, peace and interfaith relations. For the last three years I have been the Area Dean of Wensley

During our time here Jenny has worked as a teaching assistant and with adults with learning difficulties, while our two sons, Edward and George have gone through their secondary education. Ed is now in his third year of a German and Politics degree at Birmingham and in September will begin a year's study in Berlin. George will be on a gap year working to earn money for a three-month experience in Kenya before going to take a sport's degree at Durham. So when we move into Roundhay we will, by and large, be coming as a couple, which will be another new experience for us.

We plan to move in on the 11th September and are really looking forward to living among you in Roundhay. St Edmund's is clearly a vibrant and exciting place to be and it will bring lots of fresh opportunities and rewarding challenges. We are also looking forward to enjoying the cultural life of Leeds as well as engaging with some of the social issues of the city.

I am just about to celebrate (I think that's the right word) my 50th birthday and have another exciting event about to happen, which is the publishing of a book I have been writing over the last three years. (It is the biography of a travelling 18th century showman, but I won't bore you with the details - there will be plenty of time for me to do that later!) Jenny is a keen quilter and together we enjoy doing stained glass work, walking and from time to time helping as British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.

Finally I would like to say a big thank you to all those who were involved in the interview day and all those who have been praying for the parish and the candidates over the past months. I have been greatly impressed by the depth of faith and spirituality expressed through the whole process.

With our prayers and very best wishes to you all,

David and Jenny

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay