CLERGY
PRIEST IN CHARGE – The Reverend Matt Godfrey
ASSISTANT PRIEST – The Reverend Mike Loader
Mike has been a Physics teacher and lecturer for most of his life together with a short spell spent in business management. Much of his teaching has been in the UK, but he has also spent time teaching in Jerusalem, Kenya and Cyprus. He was ordained Deacon at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Nicosia, where he then served as Assistant Chaplain, and since returning to Tavistock has served as Assistant Curate first as Deacon and latterly as Assistant Priest. He was co-founder of both the South East Essex and then Tavistock Astronomical Societies, and has been a keen radio amateur (G8ONR). He has three adult Christian children, eight grandchildren and is married to Joy.
ASSISTANT PRIEST – The Reverend Sue Tucker
I was baptised at St John the Baptist Randwick Gloucestershire in 1950, and confirmed at All Saints Selsley Gloucestershire in 1960. I have been a Christian all of my life and from an early age have sung in church choirs. On moving to Devon I joined the congregation of St Mary the Virgin, Bickleigh Plymouth where I was soon involved with the choir and church life. In the year 2000 after a three year training I was licensed as a Reader to the Benefice and it was here that a great deal of my Christian formation grew.
On moving to Tavistock my license was transferred and it has been a great joy to serve as a Reader. On retirement I thought life would become easier but God called me again and in September 2016 I am to be ordained deacon in Exeter Cathedral.
The majority of my working life was in nursing, but in 2005 after a strong call from God I became the Rural Officer for the Diocese a post much blessed as I took the love of Jesus Christ into all the areas I worked in.
I have a lovely husband, two children, three step children, two grandchildren and eleven step grandchildren and one great grandchild.
ASSISTANT PRIEST – The Reverend Judith Blowey
I grew up in the village of Brixton near Plymouth. I was baptised, confirmed and married in the local church of St Marys. In later years our daughter Helen was also baptised in St Mary’s and my husband Peter was confirmed there. My mother, brother and sister in law still live in the village.
The church stands as a focal point of the village and was a huge part of my early life. I served as a Sunday school teacher and began my hobby of flower arranging by filling jam jars of flowers for the church porch it was in St Mary’s that my Christian journey of faith began.
Peter and I were married in 1981 and we moved to Higher Woodley Farm in 1983 where we joined the congregation of St Paul’s Church in Gulworthy.
We have two children Helen married to David and Philip married to Sally, and 4 wonderful grandchildren.
My working life has been spent mostly in Childcare in Nurseries and schools both in Tavistock and Plymouth leaving to set up our farmhouse Bed and Breakfast. My journey to ministry has involved me being a Churchwarden and PCC secretary for St Paul’s and a member of the benefice Pastoral care team. I was invited to consider Ordination. It took me a long time to listen to God and to accept that I was being called to ordination. I was accepted for training and the journey was transforming leading to my ordination in Exeter Cathedral in 2017 and to the Priesthood in 2018.
It is a great joy, I feel very privileged to serve in Tavistock, Gulworthy and Brent Tor.
ASSISTANT CURATE – The Reverend Dr Hazel Butland
Hazel has lived in Mary Tavy with her husband Nick for the last 6 years serving as a licensed Reader in Mary and Peter Tavy and assisting with Brentor services. They moved from Aylesbury where, among other things, Hazel worked as a GP in the community and in the local hospice. She retired early following a tough cancer journey during which she felt called to Christian ministry. This developed into a delightful ministry mainly within care homes around Aylesbury. On moving to Mary Tavy, Hazel was encouraged, initially by the late Revd John Higman to consider ordained ministry. Nick and Hazel have two daughters, Marian Elizabeth and Rachel. Marian works as an actor and lives in South London and Rachel is married to Dan. They moved to Kenya with their 2 sons Josh and Zac in 2019. They live and work at St Andrew’s international school, in the Kenyan highlands. Nick is a parish councillor, allotment holder and a chess coach. They enjoy narrowboating, singing and chatting to the family via zoom.
READERS
Mrs Wendy Roderick
Born in a Welsh mining village, Wendy Roderick attended both chapel and church with her parents within weeks of her birth; she describes God as being a presence in her life from as far back as she can remember, eventually graduating in Education and Theology. She played the organ at various services since she was a teenager and enjoyed singing whenever she could. She joined the St Eustachius’ Ministry Team in 2007 as part of Reader training and never left! She has served as a Reader in the UK and in the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf and is particularly interested in interfaith dialogue, having lived and worked in the Middle East for several years.
An experienced Headteacher and English specialist, Wendy has led school improvement projects in Africa, Arabia, Asia and Europe and is a school inspector. Wendy is married to Peter Hake, a retired biologist, and they have two children – Hannah, a doctor, and Jonathon, a Chemistry teacher. In her spare time she loves travelling, reading, playing the piano, cooking for family and friends, and designing and making jewellery using glass beads and semi-precious stones. She lives in Lifton with Peter and their two cats – Oscar and Olive – and genuinely appreciates being involved with the Friends of St Eustachius’.
Mrs Sally Pancheri
Sally became a Reader in 2011 and serves in the Tavy Mission Team. She particularly enjoys supporting young families and her vocation has led her to organise an annual family community camp, youth group and youth band. She is a Governor of Mary Tavy and Brentor Primary school.
Sally originally trained as a Home Economics teacher working for many years in the food industry alongside teaching part-time. Nowdays she and Christopher offer hospitality and refreshments to visitors, providing holiday cottages and B&B accommodation. She is also the local ambassador for St Luke’s Hospice and a keen supporter of CHICKS, Brentor.
Mr Christopher Pancheri
Christopher is a chartered architect with a passion for heritage, following his vocation to Reader ministry. He has served all churches in the Tavy Mission Community since 2011 whilst working as the TTHI Project Manager and helping his wife Sally to welcome all their guests.
As architect for four Dartmoor churches, Christopher is exploring his vocation to a ‘walking’ ministry.
Mrs Liz Bastin
The family lived, the first 3 years of my life with my Grandparents in the rectory at Little Petherick, near Padstow. Grandpa was the Rector until his retirement when we moved to the beautiful Teign Valley in Devon. Although we now had our own home, we spent many happy hours with my Grandparents who were foundational in encouraging my belief in a loving God.
I trained in Birmingham as a Physiotherapist and remember coming out of church one Sunday thinking, ‘There must be more to God than this!’ Having qualified, married and moved back to Exeter, I underwent a time of searching, attending first a Charismatic House church and then a Pentecostal church. Thus, I was introduced to the Holy Spirit who turned my life from black and white to glorious technicolour. However, my roots were in the Church of England to which I returned, wlage church.
For the last 3 years I have trained with the SWMTC as a Lay Reader. I was welcomed to St Eustachius for my Summer Placement and having moved into the area, I asked if I could stay. I felt as if I had truly found my spiritual home.
I now live with the middle of my 3 daughters, her husband and 3, of my 4 gorgeous Grandchildren.
Patti Owens
I lived in London for most of my life and became a Christian at an early age, through my church primary school. In my London churches, I was particularly involved in healing ministry and discipleship activities like quiet days and retreats. I am married to Bob and together we have two sons and two daughters, and eight grandchildren. We moved to the Lizard, Cornwall, on retirement and participated in the life of churches there, before both of us were called, in our late sixties, to train with SWMTC as Lay Readers. After a year’s joint ministry in Cornwall, during which I was treated for cancer, we decided to move to Tavistock in January 2023 and are now licensed to serve in the Benefice.
I was a Primary teacher and a university lecturer in Early Childhood Education, as well as teaching Arts subjects for the Open University. Later in my life, I changed careers, becoming a registered psychotherapist, working with individuals, groups and couples and publishing two books. Being a Reader draws on all this experience but I mainly see myself as a teacher, preacher and encourager of everyday faith. My guiding text comes from Psalm 118: ‘I shall not die, but live: and declare the works of the Lord.’
Dr Bob Owens
In October 2021, at the grand old age of seventy, I was licensed as a Reader (Licensed Lay Minister) in the Church of England in the Diocese of Truro. Together with my wife Patti, who is also a Reader, I served a group of small churches clustered on the south bank of the Helford River on The Lizard. We joined the Ministry Team at St Eustachius when we moved to live in Tavistock at the beginning of 2023.
Most of my working life was spent at the Open University. In 2000 I became Professor of English Literature, and for eight years was Head of the English Department. My academic study has focussed on religious literature of the seventeenth century, particularly the writings of John Bunyan. Among my publications are editions of Bunyan’s spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding (Penguin Classics), and his famous allegory of the Christian life, The Pilgrim’s Progress (Oxford World’s Classics). In 2011 I was invited to edit The Gospels: Authorized King James Version (for Oxford World’s Classics).
My training as a Reader has taught me much about how to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ in ways that are accessible and relevant to people’s lives today—but I still have much to learn!
CHURCHWARDENS
Mrs Catherine Stoate
Having previously served as churchwarden in another parish, I am mindful that the role of churchwarden is a serious responsibility. I pray for wisdom, enabling me to represent the people of the church community, promoting peace and unity.
Growing up in a Christian family, I made a personal commitment to Jesus as a teenager. Seeking the opportunity to think through faith more deeply, I read Religious Studies at University, and then trained as a secondary school RE teacher. After 40 years as a teacher, 20 of those as a Headteacher, I “retired” in 2019, but soon returned to tutoring children who needed to catch-up with their education due to the Pandemic. I am currently teaching full-time at Princetown Primary.
My husband, Graham, and I have two sons and three grandchildren. I enjoy walking and swimming. I also serve as a Governor of our two church schools and as a Catalyst (Youth Work in Tavistock) Trustee/Mentor.
I seek to support Matt, the Ministry Team and all the parishioners at this time of change and renewal in the life of Tavistock Parish Church.
I believe that our church is at a very important point in our journey together. In the words of the hymn: “Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.”
Sometimes our faith may feel as small as a mustard seed, but I pray that God will make it grow to be the “largest of trees” to the glory of God and the flourishing of His Kingdom.
Mrs Pam Hunter
I first joined the congregation of St Eustachius in 1990 when I married my late husband and moved to Tavistock. Until then I was churchwarden at a small village church in Cornwall with a congregation of about 20 to 30. It was very different and I was used to taking a very active role. Gradually I became more involved in the church here; reading the lesson, doing the intercessions, being a sidesman, a flower arranger, a member of a prayer group, a chalice assistant, an acolyte, a server and a helper at Friendly Fridays, Messy Church and Little Deers. I have also been secretary of the Friends, a school governor, as well as serving on the PCC for many years. I have helped to raise thousands of pounds with the Vintage Green Team making all sorts of lovely things to sell at the Christmas Tree Festival and the summer fete.
I am blessed to have a loving and supportive family. I have two daughters, (my elder daughter sadly passed away 12 years ago), six grandchildren and three great-grandsons. I also have three stepsons and four more grandchildren. I am very close to my sister who lives not far away and my brother who lives in London and is also a churchwarden of a very large church.
Much of my life has been spent within 20 miles of Tavistock. I went to school in Plymouth and after a period living in Nottingham, Spalding and near Pershore in Worcestershire, I came back to Cornwall and taught for many years at Launceston College. Since my retirement over 20 years ago my interests have included patchwork and quilting, gardening, reading, travelling, walking and music.
My earliest church memory is singing ‘For all the Saints’, wearing a navy blue cloak with a red lining, at St Helen’s and St Katherine’s School in Abingdon. I believe that we are all called to be saints, to follow Christ and to reflect God’s love for us to the people we meet day by day. My life has not always been easy but my faith in God has never wavered.
It is a huge privilege to be a churchwarden and it has been a decision taken only after a considerable time of prayer and thought. I will do my best to support Matt and the Ministry Team in every way that I can. I will strive to be prayerful, diligent, trustworthy, wise, patient, caring, friendly, kind and approachable.
I want our church to be welcoming to all, to reach out to the people of Tavistock and beyond, as we journey together in faith, hope and love guided by the Holy Spirit.
CHILDREN AND FAMILY WORKER
Position currently vacant