About Us
The Revd Elizabeth Sewell (Rector)
The Rectory High Bond End KNARESBOROUGH HG5 9BT Tel: 01423 865273 ejsewell@btinternet.com  Elizabeth is proud to be a ‘Yorkshire Gal’, born in Hull she grew up there before her family moved south, returning to Yorkshire as Elizabeth started in the sixth form (at Harrogate Grammar School!). After obtaining a degree in Food Science she worked as a Research Scientist in the Food Industry. A period running a Consultancy business was followed by her second degree, during theological training in Bristol. Ordained Deacon in 1997 and Priest in 1998 she served as Curate in Rothley in Leicestershire then, in 2001, moved to be Team Vicar in Market Harborough, also in Leicestershire. She moved to Knaresborough in 2007 and describes it as ‘coming home’. Elizabeth shares her home with two dogs, both Jack Russell Terriers, Poppy and Lucky. She competes at Dog Agility with Poppy, who has amassed quite a collection of trophies. Lucky will join the competition circuit when she is old enough. As well as regular local dog walks and Agility training, Elizabeth enjoys walking in the Dales and the Coast, skiing, travel and spending time with her extended family.
The Revd Esther Foss,
Esther Foss was born and brought up in Crewe, Cheshire. After studying for a degree in theology at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, she worked with special needs children in two comprehensive schools. She trained for the priesthood at Westcott House, Cambridge, where she gained an MPhil in church history. Her hobbies include travel, art, music and food. She is happiest tucking into fish and chips at Whitby’s Magpie Cafe and spending time with her friends and family, not least among them Tinker the dog!
John was ordained priest in 1995 in the Scottish Episcopal Church (sister church to the Church of England) on the Isle of Lewis, whilst continuing his career in housing association finance and development. Following retirement in 1998, he and his wife Pat moved back to England, where he was responsible for the parish of Swainswick and Woolley in the diocese of Bath & Wells. After ten very happy years there, they moved back to their native Yorkshire: John is now Associate Priest (i.e. sort of “part-time”) in the Knaresborough Team ministry with pastoral responsibility for those who live in and worship at St. Mary’s Goldsborough.
Darryl became the curate for the Knaresborough Anglican Team in June 2009. He trained for ministry at Cranmer Hall theological college in Durham. Darryl is married to Sharon and has two sons, 7 fish, a giant water snail, 5 crabs, 2 gerbils and a frog. Prior to training for ministry he spent 18 years as a carpet retail manager for Calvert's Carpets in Northallerton. As well as full time work at Calvert's Darryl also had a part time job as a self employed Children's entertainer aiming to entertain children from the ages of 5-8years old with his magic and ventrilloquism routines. This was a skill which proved easily transferable in ministry and his puppets made many guest appearances at St. Gregory's, Crakehall, near Bedale where he used to worship with his wife and two children.
The puppets still make regular appearances around the Knaresborough churches and schools.
Born at Hipperholme, Halifax : Heath Grammar School Halifax : National Service Royal Navy : Keble College Oxford, MA theology : Salisbury Theological College : Ordained priest 1954 in Ripon Cathedral. Curate All Souls, Leeds : Curate St.Margaret's Ilkley : Vicar of Carlton, Barnsley : Vicar of Hooe, Plymouth, Rural Dean of Plympton 1971-75, Rural Dean of Plymouth Sutton 1986-91, Chaplain RAF Mount Batten 1966-92 : Retired to Knaresborough 1995. Hon Chaplain Royal Naval Association 2006.
The Rev'd Peter Atkinson
Peter is a native of County Durham and graduate of University College, Durham. He did his training for the ordained ministry at Lincoln Theological College and was ordained in Rochester Cathedral in 1965. His first curacy was in Beckenham but has since served in parishes in Reading, Sunderland, Windsor and Aylesbury. Reading and Sunderland. In more recent years he was Urban Ministry Adviser and Church Urban Fund Co-ordinator in the Oxford diocese.
Retirement has provided opportunities for him to pursue his interest in cinema. He also enjoys a wide range of music including jazz. He is also a member of Harrogate Hospital Radio Team with a responsibility for collecting musical requests from patients to be broadcast on request shows.
I qualified as an accountant but spent the next few years working in an American Bank.Anthea and I were living in Surrey at the time where we were running the Church Youth Groups. I had always been a Churchgoer but as my Grandfather and his son had been Anglican priests I had no intention of becoming one. The hound of heaven had other ideas and after training at Ridley Hall in Cambridge I began my Yorkshire Ministry as a curate at Wetherby. I then went to become Vicar of St. Cyprian and St. James in Leeds from there to Wakefield Diocese and then I was asked to become Rector of Haxby and Wigginton in the York Diocese from where I retired 3 years ago. A Priest's life is an interesting one - how does one be both pastor and manager? How can we not upset the status quo? However it is a role of great privilege. There are things that I miss and many that I don't and I am having to learn to be a member of a congregation again which for me is not easy!
Andrew Smith read Engineering at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and then obtained a PhD in soil mechanics. He works for Coffey Geotechnics, a firm of consulting civil engineers specialising in the design of foundations, earthworks and deep excavations. In December 2008, Andrew was a member of a team that won the Fleming Award, one of the top prizes in his branch of the profession, for their work on a tunnel currently being constructed under the River Shannon near Limerick. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Geological Society of London.Andrew is a Reader at St John’s and is also treasurer of both the Church and the choir. Music takes up much of his spare time: he sings in St John’s Choir and the Leeds Festival Chorus, and local choir ‘Voix Celestes’
started life as a group of choir mums who met each week at his home to rehearse an item for the Christmas concert. Andrew says, 'I moved to Knaresborough in 2001 to take up my current job. I started going to St John's because it was my local church and I was almost immediately recruited to join the choir. One of the things that I like most about St. John's is the high standards that are attained by Richard Darke and David Salter in making the music an integral part of the worship. I have made many friends both within the church and the choir and this has become an important aspect of my social life.'
Jo moved into Brearton in February 2008 and started going to St Johns later that year, having previously worshipped at the church in Littlethorpe, near Ripon where her parents live.
Jo Says: 'Attending St Johns in Brearton is a unique warming experience. The congregation is small and very loyal and committed. I was made to feel so very welcome when I started going to the services. Alan and Sue take it in turns to lead us in worship. They are lovely, gentle people and their services are very heartfelt and thought provoking. I particularly enjoy the Rogation, Easter, Harvest and Christmas services when the children get involved.'
Simon Oldroyd (Church Warden)
Simon originally hails from sunny Bradford and moved to Goldsborough some three years ago. Married with two adult daughters, he likes nothing better than being in the company of his family. Five years ago he had the opportunity to come out of business after thirty years as a managing director in retail, to persue a new career in counselling, a field he thoroughly enjoys. This is an area that requires constant study and development as the profession strives to increase access to talking therapies. The challenge of church wardenship only began a few months ago for Simon and his knowledge of the workings of the church and contact with the congregation constantly brings new insights! Other interests include walking, visiting galleries and
museums and all forms of live performance.
James Collins (Church Warden)
A Story of Three Journeys James may be as unique as our wonderful ancient Church. He began his journey with Christ at the tender age of 39 when he was Baptised, Confirmed and Married in the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene in the small village of Campsall, just north of Doncaster, over a period of only six months. After graduating in Mechanical Engineering, James worked in the power generation industry in the UK for nearly 25 years before beginning another journey on an overseas extension to his career for a period approaching 20 years. Working always in the power generation industry he worked and lived in Khartoum (Sudan), Palapye (Botswana) and Cape Town (South Africa). He then became Managing Director of a power generation and sea water desalination company in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) before taking early retirement in 2006 after more than 8 years in the post. James has also been on a “Churchwarden” journey – serving St Margaret’s Church in Fish Hoek, Cape Town and St Andrew’s Church in Abu Dhabi before serving again here at St John’s since 2007. The role of a Churchwarden normally requires a good knowledge of the Parish and the people but James has, quite unusually, been elected to serve in three different Churches on three different continents and always less than 12 months of arriving in the Parish. Having spent nearly 20 years overseas James obviously likes to travel widely as well as gourmet dining and pottering in his greenhouse. Asked why they settled at the Parish Church of John the Baptist here in Knaresborough. They said:
James and his wife Pam, since finding St John’s, have been ‘groupies’ of the choir and always accompany them on their three tours a year.
Brian Jelbert (Church Warden)
Brian has been a practising Christian all his life, baptised in Church of England, brought up in the Congregational church (now URC), been for some years an active elder in the URC in Derby, St.Neots and Knaresborough. More recently, he has been a regular worshipper at Holy Trinity in Knaresborough for the past 3 to 4 years. Having “been around a bit” and seen several styles of worship, Brian is fairly ecumenical in his outlook and has been a worshipper at several local churches. After all, we all worship the same God just in slightly different ways.
By background, Brian is a maths graduate from Manchester University, moving initially into IT. He then qualified in accountancy and has been a finance director for over 30 years in several different companies. With his career passing through food and drink, chocolate, beer, toys, greetings cards amongst other sectors, he believes it’s important to be able to “relate to the product” – hence the expanded waist line! Brian and his wife for 40 years, Dot, settled in Scriven, Knaresborough in late 1991 and they have both been an active part of local activities since then. They have two grown up sons. Richard and his family (two grandsons aged 8 and 7) live locally in Knaresborough, whilst Mark stayed in Sheffield after graduating there. A move to Knaresborough followed a period of 7 family homes across England in 20 years so The Jelbert family seem now to have “got stuck” or finally settled on an area! The connection with Holy Trinity was enhanced and cemented through Brian’s membership of Knaresborough Choral Society. Concerts (March and December each year) are held in the church which has excellent acoustics for orchestra and choir.
Brian says “Do please come and see us at Holy Trinity Church. The peace and tranquillity of our worship, coupled with a very warm welcome, will hopefully bring to you that extra dimension that you sometimes need and search hard for. We have something for all ages and circumstances.”
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