- 272 Dyke Road
- Brighton
- East Sussex
- BN1 5AE
01273 532000
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About Us
Vicar - The Revd Alice Smith
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Our Mission
To bring more people to experience God’s love by making our church the much needed focus in the local community.
Father Mathew Philip - Associate Vicar
I was born in Singapore where my father served with the RAF during the 1950’s and 60’s. My parents are from Kerala in South India and had migrated to Singapore where my maternal grandparents had moved to in the 1930’s. We come from a Syrian Orthodox reformed church based in Kerala, called the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. I grew up in Singapore going to the local Anglican church on the RAF base most weeks and to the Mar Thoma Church once a month. This was the pattern we followed when we came to the UK in 1968 as there was a small Mar Thoma congregation in London. We would drive to London from our home in Cambridge once a month to attend the service. For the rest of the time, my siblings and I attended our local Anglican church. My wife, Susan also comes from the same church tradition in Kerala. Her parents worked in Brunei where she was born.
After graduating from Leeds University with degrees in Physics and Materials Engineering, I finished with a PhD in Polymer Physics. Susan and I met and were married in 1981 while I was completing my PhD. We moved south with work, first to Northampton and then to Brighton in 1988.
We have two daughters who both grew up in Brighton. They are both married with children and live in London now.
I taught at Brighton University and then later at the London Metropolitan Polymer Centre. While in Brighton, I developed an interest in recycling plastics which led to several industrial research projects. After six years as Associate Dean in my faculty in London, I took early retirement in December 2017. Now I teach part-time with the Open University and at a French Engineering institution. I keep my interest in physics and materials going through membership of professional institutes and my teaching.
My faith and worship have been central to my life. During the 1980’s and early 90’s it was with the Mar Thoma Church. I was involved in organising conferences and retreats for the church youth. As our children were growing up though, during the 1990’s, visits to the Mar Thoma Church became less frequent as we, as a family became increasingly involved at the Ascension Church, Westdene. Through the love of members of the congregation at the Ascension and at All Saints, Patcham we were drawn into a deeper fellowship and knowledge of the love of God. It was then that I discerned that God was leading me to make a deeper commitment to serving Him. This led me first to being trained as Reader in 2001. During this time, I was also guided to reflect further and was recommended by the parish for training to the priesthood. Following the completion of further study, I was ordained Deacon in 2005 and priested in 2006.
Since then, I served in the parish of All Saints, Patcham mainly at the Ascension, Westdene as SSM while working full-time in London. This was quite challenging but also very rewarding as I was working with colleagues and students from different faiths and no faith, learning from them as much as I was able to support them.
In March 2020, I was licensed as Associate Vicar at the Church of the Good Shepherd, just three weeks before the Covid lockdown. As the church closed, we were able to continue ministering online as we mastered Zoom. We continued to support each other during the time, moving all church meetings online and developed our skills in the use of Powerpoint and Zoom. We returned to services in church in 2021 while retaining Powerpoint presentations using Zoom for those who are unable to attend church.
Michael Miller - Reader
I have been a member of the Good Shepherd since the age of 11 (a few years ago!) and first came with my parents when they lived nearby in Westdene and were attracted to the church as they’d been married by the then Vicar, Cecil Chisholm. I have been a server, PCC member, Deanery Synod Representative, Churchwarden and was one of the founding members of the ‘Church of the Good Shepherd Playgroup’!
I am an accountant by profession but have for many years felt a sense of calling to ministry. This came to fruition in 2002 when the Vicar, Jonathan Greener announced one day over breakfast in the Vicarage that he was going on holiday and had therefore put me down to preach! I then spent some time exploring my vocation and was in due course selected for Reader training and licenced in Chichester Cathedral in September 2005.
Since then, as well as assisting with ministry in all sorts of ways at the Good Shepherd, I have completed funeral ministry training, taught for the Diocese on Following Jesus, Living Faith and other adult education courses, am a regular Chaplain at the Cathedral and act as a Selector for new Readers.
I have served under seven Vicars, all of whom have made different positive contributions to the life of the parish, and I look forward to working alongside Fr Felix and Deacon Helen over the year ahead. Our particular focus at the moment is to think about how we can further develop our ‘Time for God’ ministry for families and young people.
The Church of the Good Shepherd has a long-established, moderate Catholic tradition. We are a friendly and welcoming church that meets the worship and spiritual needs of people from a wide range of traditions. We welcome visitors and encourage newcomers to become involved in whatever they feel comfortable with.
Diocese
For information on the Diocese of Chichester, spiritual growth, diocesan strategy, parish life, governing bodies, pastoral care and counselling, please click on the following link:
Link: Diocese of Chichester