Hello! My name is the Reverend Fergus Butler Gallie and I’m the new vicar of Charlbury with Shorthampton. I’m delighted to be joining such a wonderful community of faithful people seeking to do good in their community. If you’re not a church goer please don’t stop reading there! My role is to speak of the good news of Christ with all but whether you come to church regularly or not, the vicar, and the church are for everyone.
A little about me: I’m thirty-one years old and grew up all over the country but with a family home by the Romney Marsh in Kent.
After university education at Oxford and Cambridge, I’ve served in churches in Liverpool and Central London as well as in chaplaincy at a school in Kent. My interests include writing- I am the author of three books- humour, eating, drinking, socialising, sport- I’ve spent the last term coaching cricket- and, above all else, people. Madeline and I are looking forward to building a life together in such a special part of the world. Most importantly though, the thing I’m most looking forward to in coming to Charlbury is meeting you, the people.
With that in mind, I’ll be arriving in the new year and I’m looking forward to meeting you in person. You’ll see me before, as I’ll be taking some services over Christmas- to which all of you are most welcome. I hope to see you in the shops, in the pubs, at the sports clubs and, above all, in church. Please do say hello when you do see me out and about and please remember that St Mary’s and All Saints are churches for everybody in Charlbury. In the meantime you will be in my prayers: please do pray for me and Madeline as I prepare to take up the job.
Reverend Fergus Butler Gallie
[First published in The Leaflet earlier this year.]
