Who We Are
Interim Priest-in-Charge: James Gardom
The Reverend Dr James Gardom has taken a sabbatical year from his position as Dean and Chaplain of Pembroke College to serve as Interim Priest-in-Charge, overseeing the ministry of St Bene’t’s for a period of twelve months from July 2023. Before becoming Dean at Pembroke in 2006, James was the vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Chesterton and has vast experience of both parish life and the university. As part of his ministry, James will help the congregation continue to deal with their grief following the sudden death of Anna Matthews and prepare the way for a smooth transition to the arrival of the next permanent incumbent, hopefully by autumn 2023. His interests include religion in Africa (where he worked for eight years) and Christianity and the Problem of Suffering (his PhD). He is working with some of the immigrant churches in Cambridge on shared responses to racism and xenophobia and also coordinating Pembroke College responses to the Refugee Crisis.
Churchwarden: Geoff Maitland
Geoff has worshipped at St Bene’t’s for over 30 years and became a churchwarden in 2017. By profession he is a chemical engineer, starting as an academic at Imperial College London, then spending 20 years in the oil and gas industry before returning to Imperial as Professor of Energy Engineering in 2005, where he still continues on a part-time basis. His work aims to help the world avoid the ill-effects of climate change and to enable us to be good stewards of the earth’s resources.
Churchwarden: Joy Parke
Joy was born and brought up in Islington in London. Mother and grandmother, she was a headteacher in a London primary school before taking up her present post as an advisor for an educational trust with schools across both Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. She finds God in kindness and in beauty and is delighted to be part of the St. Bene't's community.
Deputy Churchwarden: Andrea Harrison
Andrea works as a freelance Godly Play trainer after many years teaching in secondary schools. She was licensed as LLM to St Bene’t’s in 2021 after a transfer from the Diocese of Chelmsford.
Married with three grown sons, she feels privileged to serve at St Bene’t’s as a deputy churchwarden, co-ordinator of youth work, team leader of the social committee and the Warm Space initiative.
Parish Safeguarding Officer: Andrew Kennedy
We want St Bene't's to be a safe space for everyone, so the care and protection of people in our parish is a responsibility we all share.
Andrew's role is to support the clergy, wardens and PCC with ensuring that everyone in a position of parish responsibility at St. Bene't's has been properly vetted and trained, and to maintain a culture here where people speak up if they have concerns about anyone's welfare, or want to question things which happen at church which don't feel quite right.
Richard Ames-Lewis
I was in parish ministry for thirty years. Before that I practised for seven years as an architect. On retirement in 2009, Katharine and I returned to Cambridge where we had lived from 1967 to 1978, and to our old home. We also returned to St Bene’t’s,which had been our church all those years ago. It is a church and congregation with huge significance for us, as it was here we began worshipping together at the beginning of our marriage, here our three children were baptised and here I heard my call to ordination, thanks to the ministry of the brothers of the Society of St Francis. Now we greatly enjoy being members of St Bene’t’s again and I am happy to serve this community as a priest in whatever way required.
Parish Administrator: Philippa Pearson
After training as a horticulturist, Philippa became a garden designer specialising in planting design and went on to win prestigious RHS awards for her show gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. She is also a gardening journalist and author. Philippa was involved with her local parish of Gamlingay and Hatley in South Cambridgeshire for many years and helped to look after the tiny rural church at Hatley St George. She has trained in Authorised Lay Ministry as a Worship Leader. Philippa works in the church office at St Bene’t’s on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and from home at other times.