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Arrivals
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36/08 – Rev Kavula J John : Superintendent |
 Hello! My name is Kavula John and I was born and raised up in an african village in Kenya. I worked as a journalist and a Christian radio producer before coming to Britain with my husband Edward in 1984. We have two sons: Matthew - 26 (married) and David - 22. Following my call to presbyteral ministry, I trained in theology and ministry at Wesley College Bristol / University of West of England and Birmingham University. I have served in two city circuits: five years in Birmingham South West in Birmingham District and seven years in Wandle Valley in the London District. I have also served in Connexion Committees: Overseas Service Group, the Music Resource Group, working on the new hymn book ‘Singing the Faith’, and Connexional Grants Committee. From a broad-based experience of ministry I am pleased to be joining the South East District, and I come with particular interests in ecumenical relations, youth work and the spirituality of the ageing. |
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36/12 – Rev Andrew Orton : Minister |
 My name is Andrew Orton, I’m 44 years old, and (subject to conference) will take up duty in the Brighton & Hove Circuit (36/12) in September 2011, having particular pastoral responsibility for the Hove and Patcham churches. I shall be moving there with my partner, Carl, and our 6 year old cat (Susie).
I became a Christian in 1984 and after having trained for a year at Cliff College in Derbyshire felt that God was calling me to the ordained ministry. I candidated and was accepted for ministry in the Wesleyan Reform Union of Churches (which is Methodist in doctrine but congregational in its style of government) as I had been brought up in this denomination and after a period of training & probation was ordained in 1992. During this time I served in churches in the Coventry and Nottingham areas but left full time ministry at the end of 1994 to go and work in what was then the Inland Revenue.
I began worshipping in and transferred my membership to the Methodist Church in Nottingham in the late 1990’s and after some time felt that God was calling me to Full time ministry once again. I entered the candidating procedure and was accepted as a candidate on transfer and received into Full Connexion in the Methodist urch in 2006. I then spent a year of refresher studies at the Queens foundation in Birmingham before being stationed to the Luton Circuit in 2007. |
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36/17 – Rev Margaret E Heim : Minister |
 I am a life long Methodist crediting my mother with teaching me that church is much more than a place to go on Sunday morning. I entered ministerial training in 1993 after working in banking and finance. I earned a Master of Divinity degree at The Methodist Theological School In Ohio in 1996 and headed off to England as an ‘American Intern’ for one year. During that year in Wolverhampton it became clear that God was calling me to ministry in England. I returned to my home state of Michigan for a year of hospital chaplaincy training and moved to England permanently in 1998. I have served in the East Anglia District (Norwich and Ipswich) for thirteen years.
My daughter, Caroline, has travelled with me on my journey through theological college and ministry. She has lived in London since graduating from University College London in 2006. I am an avid reader and needle worker and enjoy travelling both near and far. I will move into the manse in St. Leonards with my cocker spaniel, Noah, a ten year old puppy. |
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36/25 - Rev Kevin Taylor : Minister |
 Kevin is transferring from the Orpington and Chislehurst Circuit of the London District, where he has served for 5 years. He was ordained as a Presbyter on the 25th of June 2006 after serving his probationary period with the London Mission (Plumstead) Circuit. Although he trained for ministry for about 8 years until ordination, Kevin did not retire from the Metropolitan Police Service until April 2005. His final post was in charge of the Emergency Procedures section at New Scotland Yard, which covered disaster response and victim recovery. his included multi-faith work, training sessions with the military and the training of volunteer chaplains for disaster scenes. He was also a trained negotiator for sieges and suicide intervention. Kevin has qualifications in Anatomy and Physiology, Reflexology and Head Massage and his interests include running, fell walking, cycling, swimming and (fair weather!) motorcycling. He believes that it is important to keep the mind and body as active as possible if they are to function at their best. He has recently been learning to windsurf; something he has wanted to try for a long time. He reads whenever he can and as someone who has always actively studied and used various foreign languages (he has no expectation of ever becoming a mathematician or a scientist!) he has, within the last three years, been studying Italian. Kevin has a son, Stuart (30yrs), who is a police officer on a specialist firearms team and a daughter, Heather (27yrs), who is studying psychology at degree level and who funds herself by working as a fully qualified, self-employed painter and decorator. |
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36/25 – Rev Philip Luscombe : Assistant Chair/Minister |
 I am moving into ministry in the South East District and South Kent Circuit after twenty years involved in training and forming women and men for ministry within the different churches. Before that I worked as a minister in South London and Durham. I am married to Laurel, and we have a son Ben, who is married and works in London.
We have lived and worked in Cambridge since 1999, where we have thoroughly enjoyed the great ecumenical breadth of the Cambridge Theological Federation. At Wesley House we work with Anglicans of all varieties, and the United Reformed Church, as well as Orthodox and Catholic groups. The Federation has an inter-faith dimension through Centres for Jewish-Christian and Muslim-Jewish relations, an increasingly important sign of co-operation in these times. My own interests include the teaching of preaching and doctrine, as well as the relations of science and religion – I studied physics for my first degree. I have worked ecumenically (and sometimes taught ecumenism) for the past twenty years, but have never worked ecumenically in circuit, so I relish the prospect of working collaboratively both in Ashford and across Kent. |
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36/25 – Rev Samantha Funnell : Superintendent |
 After a career in financial service provision (in the banking sector and credit union movement) Sam candidated for the Presbyteral ministry in 1997/8. She trained on an ecumenical course with SEITE (South East Institute for Theological Education) for three years, part time. She entered public ministry as a Probationer in 2001 in the Purley Circuit (now in the London District) until 2006 and then served for five years in Medway in North Kent until 2011. She is now looking forward to new challenges in the South Kent Circuit: building a new circuit as Ashford and Folkestone circuits merge, integrating into a new staff team and her first post as a Superintendency. She will continue to be part of the District Candidates Committee and help out as one of the District Mentors for candidates portfolios.
When not working Sam likes to sleep, read, climb hills (little ones) and eat food other people have cooked as her own cooking leaves a lot to be desired! |
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