St Clement's Church, Oxford

Bruce Gillingham (Rector) Back to Meet the Team

Hi, I'm Bruce and I am Rector of St Clement's. I am especially concerned to develop mission and evangelism through our Church, particularly in urban priority areas. I am open to renewal in worship, ministry and healing, and I believe that prayer is the secret of change and growth.

I never seem to really leave Oxford! I first came up to go to University. That was in 1966 and I read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Christ Church, Oxford. I trained for the Anglican ministry at St John's, Nottingham and, after a curacy at St Andrew's, Plymouth, I returned to Oxford to be Pastorate Chaplain at St Aldate's (1978-88) and Chaplain of Jesus College (1979-84). In 1988, I moved to the Midlands once more to be Diocesan Missioner in Birmingham, but in 1992 I again returned to Oxford to be Rector of St Clement's.

I love sport, particularly golf and cricket, and I have played both for the Dioceses of Birmingham and Oxford. I was privileged to be chaplain on the European Golf Tour through Christians in Sport (http://www.christiansinsport.org.uk). I am a member of the Fellowship of Parish Evangelists (through the Church Pastoral Aid Society), the Oxford Pastorate Council, which supports student ministry, and Oxford Youth Works Management Committee.

St Clement's has a staff team of seven working together in the church and parish. I especially enjoy the variety of the ministry here as our church members represent a complete range of age, background and nationality and our parish is also very mixed. We support families through many groups and activities, we seek to be courteous neighbours and faithful witnesses to those of other faiths in our community, we provide a spiritual home to students, and we especially seek to worship and grow in Christ together.