Information about our clergy and senior team at St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Revd Dr Sam Wells
The Revd Dr Sam Wells is the vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields. He has served as a parish priest for 15 years – 10 of those in urban priority areas. He also spent 7 years in North Carolina where he was Dean of Duke University Chapel.
Sam is also Visiting Professor of Christian Ethics at King’s College, London, and a non-residential theological canon at Chichester Cathedral. He has published 17 books, including works on Christian ethics and collections of sermons. He is married to the Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells. They have two children.
Revd Richard Carter
Richard was ordained in 1992 and has been a full time priest at St Martin’s since 2006. He has special responsibility for the education programme, international links and hospitality of the church and links up with the Connection at St Martin’s for services, events and to lead the Spirituality Group. Before coming to St Martin’s Richard was Chaplain to the Melanesian Brotherhood in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
Revd Katherine Hedderly
Katherine has particular responsibility for liturgy and worship, communications, prayer and spirituality, and children’s ministry, and has been a full time priest at St Martin’s since 2009. She also acts as a spiritual director. Before being ordained Katherine previously worked in the film and television business, in script development and drama production and as director of an independent production company.
Revd Clare Herbert
Revd Clare Herbert M.Th. is Lecturer in Inclusive Theology at St Martin’s, where her task is to bring into the light voices and faces which have always been welcomed into the open community which is St Martin’s but perhaps not always given full voice in language, spirituality or decision making.
Clare has previously worked as a social worker and counsellor with children and families and as a university chaplain in the Bristol, and as Diocesan Pastoral Care Advisor, Dean of Women, National Coordinator for the Charity Inclusive Church and Rector of St Anne’s Soho in the Diocese of London. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in the pastoral care of gay and lesbian people.
Rt Revd Peter Hullah
Peter is a non-stipendiary minister in the St Martin’s clergy team. He has been a school chaplain and was Head of Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and Principal of Northampton Academy. More recently, he has served United Learning, developing the values and ethos of a number of schools, independent and Academies working together within a group.
He was consecrated Bishop of Ramsbury, the Area Bishop for Wiltshire in the Diocese of Salisbury. While in the Diocese he chaired the Salisbury-Sudan Link and recently he has been appointed the Director of Together for Sudan a charity which works in Sudan and South Sudan, developing education opportunities for women.
Rod Beadles, Churchwarden
Rod has worked in the Not For Profit Sector for more than 30 years and currently helps with the BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal. Having been a member of the church for over 12 years and involved in many aspects of church life, Rod is now in his fourth year serving as churchwarden. Outside of St Martin’s Rod enjoys reading, the arts, walking and watching test cricket.
Ali Lyon, Churchwarden
Ali Lyon has been part of St Martin’s for 20 years, and churchwarden since 2010. In this role, she works alongside the rest of team to support the whole of the St Martin’s community, building up the things that unite us. In the rest of her life, she runs a communication and coaching service, at www.we-equals.co.uk. And if she has any spare time, she loves making clergy vestments – see some pictures at www.lilyonafish.co.uk
Allyson Hargreaves, Executive Director
Allyson is Acting Executive Director of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Ltd. She has been working in the British hospitality and tourism industry for many years. In 1987 she was part of the team that founded St Martin’s trading subsidiary, St Martin-in-the-Fields Enterprise Ltd (now St Martin-in-the-Fields Ltd), which manages the Café in the Crypt, the concerts programme, the Shop, Brass Rubbing, exhibitions and venue hire. Annual turnover has now reached almost £4m with all profits supporting the work of St Martin’s.
In the last 25 years, Allyson has managed all of the profit-making areas of St Martin’s and was the client / contractor operations liaison throughout the £36m building project, the Renewal of St Martin’s. In her current role as Executive Director she is responsible for the strategic direction of the business, overall operations of the site and management of a staff team of 80.
Stan Chan, PCC Treasurer
Stan has been worshipping at St Martin’s for over 20 years. He has been Treasurer since 2009 and before that was a trustee of related charity The Vicar’s General Fund. Stan is a chartered accountant and works as the Head of Finance Change, involved in finance transformation at Close Brothers, a FTSE250 listed bank. Married with two sons, Stan enjoys walking and cycling in the countryside with the family when time allows, and has enjoyed taking part in the St Martin’s Annual Pilgrimage to Canterbury a number of times.
Adam Clark, Head Steward
Adam is responsible for the team of 60 volunteer stewards who welcome worshippers to St Martin’s. He has been involved with the church since 1996 when he did the annual St Martin’s pilgrimage to Canterbury for the first time, a feat he has repeated every year since, leading the “steady” group of pilgrims over the four-day walk. He runs his own business which helps organisations to thrive through getting the best out of their staff.
If you would like to help Adam and the other stewards by joining the team, or want to share the experience you had as a visitor, please contact Adam.
Caroline Essex, Children’s Champion
Caroline has been a member of St Martin-in-the-Fields since 2000. As its Children’s Champion she coordinates the involvement of the church’s young people in the Sunday morning Eucharist service, helping them both to find their place within the liturgy and to develop their relationships with the wider church community. She first came to London in the 1990s and completed her PhD at the same university where she now works – a role that involves overseeing the academic progress and pastoral welfare of students. During her free time she loves reading, seeing friends and training with her local running club.
