Hello. I’m Mark James and I’m Assistant Curate here at Great Dunmow and Barnston. I’ve been here since July 2005. A curate is basically a vicar in training and I shall be here ‘learning the trade’ for about three years before moving on to my own parish.

How have I come to be here? Well, it’s a long story but in short I am actually an Essex man having been born and bred in Southend-on-Sea. For a number of years I was a teacher in a comprehensive school in Hornchurch near Romford, where I taught Geography and Information Technology. I ended up as Assistant Head Teacher with responsibility for the Curriculum and Assessment. Round about the year 2001 I felt that God was calling me out of teaching into something new, so after a lot of thought and reflection, I gave up my teaching job and went to train for the Church of England ministry in Cambridge.

Some people might suggest that I need my head examined! Giving up a good job, moving house, becoming a student once again, experiencing a complete change of lifestyle and all for what? Becoming a vicar! But to be honest I have never found the Christian faith to be boring or irrelevant and my faith in Jesus Christ gives me tremendous resources for living in the 21st century. I want to try and share something of that faith through my work here.

I am aware that the media portrays the church in Britain as being in terminal decline and it’s true that numbers attending church on Sundays have taken a knock over the last few years. But I firmly believe that many people of all ages still have a basic belief in God even if they don’t want to give expression to that by joining a church. One of the main reasons I became a vicar was to try and find ways of making the church more accessible to the wider community and more relevant to life in the 21st century. We need to explore new ways in which people can develop their relationship with God – ways that are relevant and meaningful to them. So watch this space and let me know your ideas!