New Vicar Coming to Grove Park Church

Rev Caroline Halmshaw appointed at St. Paul's

Rev Caroline Halmshaw
Rev Caroline Halmshaw

April 6, 2023

St Paul’s Church in Grove Park has announced the appointment of the Rev Caroline Halmshaw as its new vicar.

She will be joining the congregation in late spring or early summer as soon as her temporary accommodation in St Paul's vicarage has been prepared.

The Patron of St Paul's, Father Simon Brandes, and the Churchwardens say they are delighted to welcome her to the church community.

Caroline is currently the Associate Vicar at St Mary with St Alban in Teddington and is also the part-time Director of Post Ordination Training for the Kensington Area of the London Diocese. This is a role that supports newly ordained curates as they start parish life.

She was ordained in 2018 and trained to be a priest at St Mellitus College. Before training for ordained ministry, her earlier career was in nursing and midwifery and, after further study, she worked in International Development in the charity sector. Her focus was on health programmes, especially maternal health and reproductive rights (SRHR). She held senior positions in the charity sector, her last role was at Plan UK.

St Pauls Church in Chiswick
St. Paul's, Chiswick

Caroline is married to Rick and they have a 15-year-old son called Alec. Caroline and Rick both grew up in Radlett in Hertfordshire and have lived mainly in London and Brighton. It was in Radlett, back in her teenage years that she started going to church. Her mother, Stella was ordained in 1987. Caroline has lived in Zimbabwe and travelled widely for work.

She said, “I’m delighted to be coming to St Paul’s as the new vicar. It’s been wonderful to learn about the life of St Paul’s over the years, to hear how the church has been the centre of much of the community life in Grove Park. As we start a new phase together, I hope we can build on this, always being a place
of warm welcome to everyone, where we can come together to make friends, offer sanctuary and listen as we share our faith. I am so looking forward to meeting and working with the congregation and wider community.”

Her predecessor, Reverend Michael Riley, was vicar at St. Paul’s for over 33 year before retiring last July.

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