Ministry Accompaniment

Jane Myers is a qualified Performance Coach, Facilitator and Trainer, with a background in psychology, and over 25 years’ experience in the field. Jane has a niche in understanding how individuals process information and how to maximise this for personal development and learning. Jane has worked with individuals and teams in the Oxford Diocese for over 10 years, as well as a range of organisations, local government, education sectors and corporate clients. Jane creates thinking space for the client using a range of tools and methods to reflect the needs of the individual. Jane is a dyslexia specialist, understanding and offering support to a range of neurodiverse conditions.

Mike Smith is Rector of the parish of Caversham Thameside and Mapledurham and Area Dean of Reading. He has parish experience in inner city, urban deprivation, suburban and rural ministry. Mike’s experience on a diocesan senior staff provided him with insight in overseeing and supporting clergy through transitions and change. Mike is interested is helping clergy and parishes discern God’s preferred and promised future, using his coaching qualification to help them identify their own challenges and the obstacles they need to overcome in order to achieve them.

Gill Lovell is a priest with 12 years parish ministry experience and 9 years experience as a diocesan consultant working with individuals, teams and benefices in a variety of contexts. Until August 2025, she has been Continuing Ministerial Development (CMD) Adviser for the diocese and co-ordinator the Ministry Accompaniment Network. Gill is a professionally accredited coach (ICF ACC), specialising in personal and professional development, wellbeing and resilience.

Charles Chadwick was ordained in this diocese in 1988 was trained as a work consultant in the 1990s. He spent more than 25 years as a parish priest serving in a range of settings and, prior to retirement, was the Parish Development Adviser for the Dorchester Archdeaconry for 10 years. He is particularly interested in enabling people to undergo transitions well, and to explore their roles and how they inhabit them. He also has much experience of the many aspects of rural ministry and would be pleased to accompany those serving in rural contexts.

Derek Lancaster is a Licensed Lay Minister and an experienced coach with a background in project management, change management and strategic development. He coached individuals and groups for over 15 years in senior management and consultancy roles in the civil service, local government and the BBC. He works part-time in parish ministry, having retired in 2022. Derek is interested in exploring the joys and challenges of parishes, vision and strategy development, welcoming the opportunity to provide a safe space to explore and help clients gain new perspectives, and to simply wonder about possibilities.

Fiona Elder is a qualified coach and mediator who has worked for over 20 years with organisations in the UK and Europe to build Leadership Capability and strengthen team working. She specialises in facilitating change and engagement by working with leaders to build robust, stakeholder networks through effective and sometimes difficult conversations. ( i.e. getting the people who need to do “stuff “ to work together! ) She has worked in Christian Youth Work for over 25 years, and was previously part of a church plant and so has experienced the tensions, challenges and opportunities in a wide variety of Christian families. Fiona is also an experienced Relationship Counsellor and has worked with couples who experience challenge and pressure from the impact of the roles one or both hold.

Nigel Hardcastle retired in the summer of 2012 after 40 years in the Anglican ministry having served in 5 different parishes – from Urban Priority Areas, through ethnically and socially mixed areas to leafy suburbs. He is now based in Tilehurst, Reading. Nigel has been a Diocesan Work Consultant (and then Ministry Accompanier) since 1997. He was also an associate trainer for the Regional Training Partnership Transitions in Ministry consultations. Nigel is interested in a wide range of areas that affect parish life – from routine reviews of ministry, parish strategy and tactics, to more specific work on problems and opportunities such as difficult relationships, looking for new understanding and ways forward, cultural change, and working with other cultures.

Rhodri Bowen is the Parish Development Adviser for Berkshire and Oxford Archdeaconries. He came to this role after a significant time in school leadership and, before that, church-based youth and children’s ministry. Please do contact Rhodri to explore what kind of ministry accompaniment might benefit you, your ministry and God’s mission in your community.

Anne Perry comes from a background in education, most recently as an Assistant Headteacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator, where she specialised in enabling the staff and the school environment to adapt and better meet the needs of neurodiverse students. Anne is now the Parish Development Adviser for the Dorchester Archdeaconry and having been an active part of a small rural church for the last 15 years, has a particular interest in the challenges and opportunities that rural ministry presents.

Asa Humphries is the Parish Development Adviser for Buckinghamshire Archdeaconry.

Pete Wheeler is CMD Adviser for the Oxford Diocese, having been a Parish Priest for 10 years in a both challenging and wonderful estate in Aylesbury. Pete has coached and mentored pioneer clergy, curates, as well as worship pastors, and has experience in growing new worshipping communities; appreciative models for change and transition; building healthy teams; reflective practice; growing leaders; and enabling and equipping all God’s people for mission.