The Ven Guy Elsmore
The Archdeacon of Buckingham is Guy Elsmore. Before his move to the Diocese of Oxford, he was area dean of Toxteth and Wavertree in the city of Liverpool and rector of St Luke in the City Team Ministry.
Guy was born and brought up in Sutton Coldfield and studied physics at the University of Edinburgh. After graduation he worked with the homeless in the centre of Liverpool before training for ordination at Ridley Hall. Returning to the Diocese of Liverpool, he served as curate at St Michael’s, Huyton, and then as vicar of the shared RC/C of E parish of St Basil and All Saints in Widnes, where he also became area dean.
Guy has experience of leading the planting of new congregations and of relaunching existing congregations to enable growth. He has worked as a facilitator with a variety of rural, urban and suburban parishes to help them rethink their mission and ministry. He is trained and experienced in using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a tool for enabling change and growth in the church.
Guy worked for many years as an on-call assistant chaplain at Liverpool Women’s Hospital and was involved in several community projects and charities in Liverpool. He is a novice member of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis (TSSF) and, until moving to Buckinghamshire, was general secretary of Modern Church. He has written articles on Christian disagreement and on church growth.
Guy is married to Petra, also a priest and working in part-time parish ministry in Bucks. He has four children. His eldest son died suddenly in April of 2018. His recreations include cooking, pilgrimage walks (most recently to Bardsey and to Holy Island) and playing the piano.