Ministry Team
Rev’d Alex Williams, Rector
(0151) 625 1052
rectorwestkirby@gmail.com
Our Rector Alex joined us in 2020 having moved from Warwickshire. Alex grew up in West Kirby and attended West Kirby Grammar School before going to University and training as a Speech and Language Therapist. Following training at Cuddesdon Theological college Alex completed a curacy in Coventry Diocese where her husband was also a parish priest.
(Please note that Alex’s normal day off is a Monday)
Other members of the Ministry Team can be contacted via our office.
The rest of the team…
Rev’d David Chester, Assistant Priest
David Chester is part of our ministry team and regularly leads services in both churches as well as providing pastoral care.
Rev’d Ray Samuels, Assistant Priest
Ray Samuels is part of our ministry team and regularly leads services in both churches as well as providing pastoral care.
Rev’d Canon Anne Samuels, Assistant Priest
Anne Samuels is part of our ministry team and regularly leads services in both churches as well as providing pastoral care.
Rev’d Mary Railton-Crowder, Assistant Priest
Mary Railton-Crowder is part of our ministry team and regularly leads services in both churches as well as providing pastoral care.
John Smith, Reader Emeritus
Graham Crowder, Reader
Brian Dodd, Reader Emeritus
Churchwardens
Ann Holden
Gregory Buckridge
St Bridget’s Centre and Parish Administrator
Richard Williams, Centre Manager
Paula Cobby, Parish Administrator
Children and Families worker
Andrew Gibb
Children and Families Worker
Carolyn Tallents
Children and Families Worker
Contact Us
The Parish Office in St Bridget’s Centre is attended weekday mornings:
9:30am – 12:30pm, Monday to Friday
We are also contactable by email: office@stbridgetschurch.org.uk
Churchwardens
Can be contacted in an emergency
St Bridget’s, West Kirby:
0151 625 2389 or 0151 625 1636
The Church of the Resurrection and All Saints, Caldy:
0151 342 0141
How to get to us…
How to find us
St. Bridget’s Church
Church Road, West Kirby, CH48 7HL
0151 625 2739
St Bridget’s Church is between Church Road and St Bridget’s Lane
use postcode: CH48 7HL or what3words: ///mild.roofed.promoting
Directions
- From Grange Road (A540), with West Kirby Railway station on your left, turn right into Westbourne Road and then left at the crossroads into Church Road: the Church is on your right.
- avoid congestion by approaching from Church Road, especially during school hours
- it is unrestricted parking on Church Road and Carpenters Lane
- There is a bicycle rack adjacent to St Bridget’s Centre
- There is wheelchair access to the Church and St Bridget’s Centre from Church Road
- The walk from the station to the church is 0.5mi and takes about 15 minutes
The Church of the Resurrection and All Saints
Caldy Road, Caldy, CH48 2HZ
/
Caldy Church is in the centre of Caldy Village, by the sharp bend in Caldy Road
use postcode: CH48 2HZ or what3words: ///elders.panel.bake
Directions
- From the roundabout on the A540, follow the sign to Caldy downhill along Caldy Road (B5141); the Church is on your right.
- we recommend parking on a side road such as Croft Drive or Kings Drive
- The 82 bus, from West Kirby stops nearby on Caldy Road
- The walk from the station to the church is 1.7mi and takes about 40 minutes
- The Parish Office is in St Bridget’s Centre, in St Bridget’s Churchyard and adjacent to the Primary School
- The Rectory is at 40 Village Road (opposite the Ring O’ Bells car park)
Inclusive Church
Inclusive Church is a network of churches, groups and individuals uniting together around a shared vision. This Parish is a member, and we display the Inclusive Church declaration:
We believe in inclusive church – a church which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate.
We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality.
We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.
To find out more about what this means for this parish, please read our leaflet.
Living in Love and Faith
In response to the Church of England’s ‘Living in Love and Faith Report’ the parish welcomes the positive steps being made towards ending the discrimination against LGBT+ people. Our Rector would conduct same sex marriages if permitted and is pleased to be able to offer the new Prayers of Love and Faith to bless same-sex couples.
Eco Church
In 2005, the Parish was the first one in the Diocese of Chester to become an Eco Congregation. That scheme sought to help churches to make the link between environmental issues and Christian faith, and respond in practical action in the church, in the lives of individuals, and in the local and global community. The Eco Congregation scheme has now evolved into the Eco Church project run by A Rocha. The Parish is again in the forefront of responding to the need for us all to respond positively to the challenges of the pressures that humans put on the environment on which we depend – God’s wonderful creation.
In 2018, Caldy gained a Bronze Eco Church Award. In 2019, St Bridget’s did the same. In 2020, St Bridget’s gained a Silver Award. The aim now is for both parts of the Parish to gain a Gold Award, something which very few parishes across the whole of England have so far achieved. We currently have an ambitious plan to develop the lower churchyard at St Bridget’s into a spring and summer meadow with increased biodiversity.
The Award covers five essential aspects of church, community and individual life – our worship and teaching, our buildings, our care for the land that we are responsible for, our engagement with the local community and with global issues, and our personal lifestyles. We are seeking to engage with all of our church community, to highlight the part that we can each play in reducing our negative impact, and to help the Church of England to reach its target of being carbon neutral by 2030.
Fair Trade
As an international movement and in partnership with 2 million farmers and workers, Fairtrade has a vision of a world in which all producers enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods, fulfil their potential, and decide on their future.
St Bridget’s is a Fairtrade church – which means that we try as far as possible to use fairly traded items such as tea, coffee and sugar. There has been a Fairtrade stall in the parish selling food and craft items for a number of years. The stall is open in the Centre after the 10am service on Sundays and at the Link Coffee morning on Wednesdays.
We encourage the use of Fairtrade items in all church events and also ask regular hirers to use fairly traded goods. There is now a much wider range of products available and we encourage you to ask for Fairtrade items when you go shopping, as availability is led by customer demand. Using Fairtrade items makes a real difference to the lives of many in the developing world.