David joined St James in April 2016, having previously been Team Rector at North Shields. Originally from Grimsby he has worked in parishes in Lincoln, London and Kent before moving to the North East originally to be nearer to family. He is married to Elspeth and they have four more or less grown up children. Their eldest lives in Japan with his wife Hiromi and after a visit in 2015 this has inspired a not very successful but on going attempt to learn Japanese.
David is a keen cyclist, so if you seem him riding around Benwell, give him a wave!

Chris grew up in Newcastle and found faith as a teenager when a friend first took him to Church. After living in lots of different cities he is very happy to be back in the North-East and working in the Benwell & Scotswood Team.
He trained for ministry at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, but before that Chris worked as an artist and trained in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Making art will always be a big part of his life. He also loves travelling and enjoys getting lost in other countries.

Chris was elected as churchwarden in 2021 after helping us keep the building open all the way through the Covid-19 pandemic. He's often around and happy to help with any queries!

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