Chris Thorpe – Vicar of Shifnal and Sheriffhales

Chris Thorpe
Chris Thorpe has been involved in Community Ministry as a parish priest for 20 years. At St Aidan’s Blakenall Heath in Walsall he set up the Care Team, running projects with local leaders for children, young people and excluded pupils. He chaired the first of Walsall Council’s Local Committees with elected representatives for every hundred households, managing the regeneration budget for the Harden area. He worked to set up a Credit Union for Blakenall Heath which provided savings and loans for hundreds of local people. St Aidan’s won an award from the Archbishop of Canterbury for the best transformation of a church building.

In Bilston, Wolverhampton, Chris developed a charitable company employing 22 people, and delivering the Link Line Elderly Care Project; Teleresources, which worked with the long term unemployed, training them for new employment; and the Faith Regeneration Unit, supporting faith groups in developing projects. He was a director of Heantun Housing Association, and New Bilston Limited, and Chair of the Town Centre Regeneration Forum and the Bilston Faith Leader’s Group. His book “Breaking the Bread of Community Engagement” is included within the Church of England’s “Faithful Cities” Report (http://www.culf.org.uk/files/Breakingthebread.pdf). Chris has now moved to Shifnal in Shropshire and is exploring Community Ministry in a rural context.

Sarah Schofield – Team Vicar of All Saints Wolverhampton

Mandy Keay
I manage the Open Door Project at St. Chad's Church Beechdale in Walsall and I believe Community Ministry is the way forward for churches in reaching their local communities and in encouraging people to want to know more. I share in the leadership of the Community Ministry course.

Sue Rawlings – Accountant and Consultant

Sue Rawlings

RHCS (Rawlings Heffernan Consultancy Services Ltd), a regeneration consultancy established in 2002, works with the public and private sector across the East and West Midlands. RHCS has been an NCVO approved consultancy since 2006 and much of RHCS’s work is gained by personal recommendation or repeat business. Sue Rawlings and Pauline Heffernan, the directors of RHCS are both practising Christians and are delighted to be part of the team delivering the Community Ministry course. They lead sessions on the practical aspects of project development and delivery.

Sue is a Chartered Certified Accountant by profession. She has held senior positions in both the public and voluntary sector. As Chief Financial Officer of an environmental charity, with an annual income of several £m she was responsible for financial viability and the discharging of legal and statutory requirements plus ensuring the contractual obligations for statutory agencies were met.

As a co Director of RHCS, Sue has furthered her financial management skills, particularly in terms of undertaking financial analysis in relation to business planning. She has also built her appraisal skills as an independent appraiser within the Shropshire Partnership and is currently a Local Improvement Advisor for the West Midlands Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.

Pauline Heffernan – Project Manager and Consultant

Pauline Heffernan

Prior to becoming a consultant, Pauline had 15 years experience of working at a senior level in the training and employment field having held Director/senior management positions in both the private and voluntary sector. She was responsible for developing departmental units capable of generating in excess of £2m annually in both sectors. She has secured funding and developed a staffing structure capable of delivering a £12m programme of employment related activities. She has extensive experience of developing and motivating teams to meet performance and income targets.

As a co Director of RHCS, Pauline has shared skills and experience with a number of, particularly, voluntary sector organisations to build skills and capacity in the sector. She has successfully undertaken a wide range of assignments.

Pete Wilcox – Canon Chancellor of the Cathedral

Pete is Canon Chancellor at Lichfield Cathedral, where his responsibility is for education and outreach and the ministry of welcome offered to visitors.  He contributes a series of sessions to the course, designed to explore what 'community ministry' looks like in the light of the Bible.  He is the author of two popular bible commentaries: Living the Dream: Joseph for Today (2007) and Walking the Walk: the Rise of King David for Today (2009). pete.wilcox@lichfield-cathedral.org

Bill Nichols – Lay Chair Wolverhampton Deanery Area 5 and on Bishop’s Council

Bill Nichols

Following a successful career at Chubb and Sons Lock and Safe Co. Ltd as  Training Development Manager with Chubb having responsibility for all training and development with Chubb in the UK.  Bill left Chubb and worked for Wolverhampton University Faculty of Education advising companies on training and the training of trainers.
He then joined the Engineering Employers Federation West Midlands and in 1998 was appointed Director, Education and Training Development.  His work has included setting up and developing a major technology training center in Birmingham.  It is now one of the foremost training centers of its type in the UK, training Graduates, Modern Apprentices and upskilling existing workforces
In 2005 Bill was elected to General Synod and plays a full role in Synodical government locally as Lay Chair in Wolverhampton Deanery. At diocesan level he is a member of Bishops Council and the Finance and Central Services sub-committee. He also sits on the Council of Lichfield Cathedral and is a member of The Diocesan Local Ministry Governing Body. Bill is a Reader in his local parish church of Heath Town and a member of the Ministry Leadership Team leading on Evangelism and Outreach.
Within the local community Bill has served as a Governor of Trinity Primary School for many years and is Director and Chair of Wolverhampton Link Line [serving elderly people in Wolverhampton] and also Chair of a successful Lunch Club and of New Park Village Activities Network serving young people in a deprived area of Wolverhampton where he has lived all his life.
Bill leads on Management Training and presentation Skills on the Community Ministry Programme.