Meet the team

Associate Vicar : Andrew Vaughan

Andrew Vaughan 2017Andrew is the Associate Vicar of Pip & Jims and he has day to day responsibility for the Church, working with the leaders and Church family to seek God's calling on our lives. He is passionate about seeing God transform people to reach their full potential. Andrew arrived as Associate Vicar in early 2021 after 9 years as vicar in Istead Rise and prior to ordination training he was involved in construction and housing.
Andrew is married to Catherine who plays a number of instruments and teaches music and leads sung worship. In his spare time Andrew likes to fiddle with his Red Rover, listen to all forms of music, especially Bruce Springsteen and U2, take photos and he is learning to cook curries! Andrew and Catherine have two school age boys living with them.  Contact Andrew.

Lay Minister: Rose Robinson

Rose RobinsonRose’s passions are worshipping God, prayer, preaching and living the Bible especially the Good News that Jesus died and rose again for us, caring for people of all ages in their many needs and promoting their growth in Christ. She was licensed as a Reader in 2008 and has been part of the team here since 2016.  Rose is also licensed by the Diocese to take funerals and has an interest in Chaplaincy.

Rose is married to Alan having met at NRI, Chatham.  They then did a four-year posting with Tearfund to Honduras and Alan worked for Mission Aviation Fellowship until 2021.  They have one son, Mark who began an Economics degree at university in September 2020.


Church Operations Officer: Ruth Shelsher

Ruth Shelsher thumbRuth joined the team in 2018 and is the part-time Church Operations Officer which means she organises lots of the activities that come with running a Church. So banns for weddings, booking enquiries, printing weekly notices, database, DBS checks, purchases of everything from electricity to more toilet rolls, and organising many of the rotas all go via Ruth. Without her we'd be lost! Ruth's married to Mike and has a lifetime of experience in organising things and people.



Contact Ruth
 

Retired Assistant Minister: Steve Spencer

SteveSteve has been part of the church since 1987 and ordained in 1998. He was the Senior Chaplain at Medway Maritime Hospital for many years, and now occasionally preaches, leads services and still offers pastoral care. Steve has two grown up daughters and multiple grandchildren. In his spare time, Steve enjoys woodturning, DIY, music, and reading.



 

Lay Minister: Jean James

JeanDuring lockdown Jean has produced a weekly talk for our phone line and brought together a team to pray for the sick each week (via Zoom). Jean has been at Pip n Jims since 1968, and has been involved in many aspects of church life since then. Jean developed an interest in healing prayer, and began training people for Prayer Ministry. She was also the author of a book on Quiet Times. 
Jean was licensed as a Reader in 2000, and over the years her role has expanded to taking funerals, speaking at ladies groups, taking Communion to the Wisdom Hospice, and praying and supporting others. She has four children, and after being widowed in 1997 she remarried in 2002, and she and her husband Peter lead a home group, look after grandchildren, and continue to support those around. She is passionate for people to grow in the Lord through the Scriptures and Prayer.

Emeritus Lay Minister: Harry Parsons

HarryHarry was licensed as a Lay Minister in 1989 and now preaches only occasionally but his his wisdom still shines through in one-to- one conversations.   Harry enjoys 'unpacking' the Gospel message to show relevance to today's lifestyle and life's problems. Although retired from business, he has not retired from sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.


Harry is married to Ann.  They have 3 married children and 8 grandchildren.

Vicar: Martyn Saunders

Martyn Saunders

Martyn has been the vicar of St Philip and St James since 2010. In 2020 he became also the leader of St John's Chatham, and in 2021 day-to-day responsibility for Pip and Jims moved to Andrew Vaughan.
All that means he has the amazing privilege of being set aside full time to lead the church and serve all those who live in our local community. He is passionate to see the Kingdom of God come on (this bit of the) earth as it is in heaven, and his prayer and action is focussed on encouraging the Church to grow deeper in their relationship with God, and helping people to know about and respond to the amazing message of the good news of God's love for us.

 Martyn is the Area Dean for Rochester Deanery.
 

Martyn is married to Janette and they have three sons.


Contact Martyn