Lead Ministers
Rev Andy Tufnell
Vicar (Senior Pastor)
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Andy arrived at Christ Church in 2017 with his wife Claire and their two daughters. Before he began full time ministry in the church he was a secondary school Physics teacher in the UK and Uganda. Andy loves time with his family, whether it’s a family walk, attempting to sing along to the latest Disney soundtrack, or playing on the beach. You could easily spark a conversation with Andy with an exploration of the big questions of philosophy, Physics and faith. But, if you prefer movies, books or watching the football over a pint, you’ll find Andy equally satisfied.
Claire Tufnell
Curate
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I’m Claire, a curate at Christ Church and married to Andy, our vicar. We share a heart for this community and love being part of what God is doing here. We have two lively girls and a therapy dog named Olive, who has her own little dog collar and loves bringing joy to everyone she meets (she’s practically part of the ministry team!) I’m all about being outdoors, staying active, drinking coffee, and chatting with anyone passing by the church. I’m passionate about making Jesus known in everyday life and love connecting with people. So if you see me (or Olive) around, come and say hi!
Ryan Mellor
Curate with oversight of The Orchard and The Hub
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Ryan is one of our curates and leads The Orchard, a new worshipping community based at St Barnabas in Inham Nook. Ryan also has responsibility for the Hope Community Hub, a partnership between our churches and Hope Nottingham. The weekly activities at the Hub are one of the ways we love our neighbour through hospitality, friendship and practical support. He is married to Sally and they have two teenage daughters and a dog called Theo. Ryan loves walks in big open spaces (ideally near a pub) and rugby.
Children & Youth
Sarah Meredith
Youth (Years 10-13)
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Sarah joined the team in September 2023 and works part-time with the 14 – 18-year-olds. She loves working with this age group and with an amazing team of volunteer leaders. They enjoy providing opportunities to explore questions about faith, and spending time together. They are an incredible group of young people, and she is keen to make it a place where all youth feel welcomed and valued.
Sarah worked with teenagers with additional needs in Further Education for over 10 years and has also previously worked as a trained counsellor.
She is married to Rob, has two sons and a dog called Bailey. She enjoys spending time with family, walks in the countryside, art, dance and trips to coffee shops with friends!
Laura Ottewell
Children (0 years – Year 6)
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Laura joined the Christ Church Team in March 2023 as the Children’s Pastor for Years 1 – 6 on Sunday (Primary age Children), also focussing on the multigenerational services for the Key Christian festivals and Primary school visits to Church in our parish.
Before working for the Church, Laura was a Primary School teacher and a Paediatric nurse in Nottinghamshire, through these roles has developed a vast knowledge of child development and teaching and learning strategies.
Laura is married to Will and has 3 children, 2 girls and a boy, she enjoys the daily challenges, not just of parenting, but of parenting a child with Autism and ADHD.
As this is something that is close to her heart, Laura has developed a particular interest in creating an accessible, calm, happy, safe environment for people with additional needs or neurodiversity. Laura is keen to ensure that God’s love is shown to all in a way that they can access.
Office & Operations
Gary Hackett
Operations Manager
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Gary became a Christian on a Christian basics course ran by the Reverend John Williams at Christ Church in 1986.
He has a daughter aged 34 and a son aged 11.
Before working for the Church Gary worked in the textile trade from leaving School at 16,
and continued working in textiles for the next 30 years.
On leaving the textile trade he then turned his hobby of gardening into a business.
Gary joined the staff team at Christ Church and St Barnabas in September 2022 as part time premises manager whilst also working at a care home in Chilwell.
The position of full-time operations manager came up in 2023 which he successfully applied for and started officially at the beginning of July 2023.
Gary enjoys bringing his variety of knowledge and practical experience gained over 47 years to this role and loves being part of the Christ Church and St Barnabas family.
Kathryn Britton
Office Manager and PA to the Vicar
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Kathryn is our office manager and PA to Rev’d Andy Tufnell. She manages the day to day running of the office and tries to keep Andy in order (!) to release him to pastor as effectively as possible. She has been at Christ Church for over 20 years, is married to Simon and has 2 boys, in her spare time she loves to play badminton.
Candice Cheng
Admin Assistant
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Candice arrived at Christ Church in October 2021 with her husband and 2 children. Before she worked in church, she was a secretary and website designer. She mainly focuses on Bookings, Finance and Publicity in our Parish. Candice loves making scented candles and travels with family.
St Barnabas
Jonathan Strickland
Ministry Oversight of St Barnabas
Mayble Mvula
Young People’s Community Pastor
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Mayble Mvula is our community pastor for young people and their families. Her role involves supporting local communities in our parish and in particular engaging with younger people of school age. She can often be found at our weekly community café, food club and after school drop-in café which are part of the Hope Community Hub in Inham Nook. She leads our Renew Wellbeing sessions for young people at St Barnabas, and will soon take up a new activity in coordinating a team providing early intervention coaching to children at a local primary school. Mayble is an experienced church pastor, and has also worked as a nurse in school and care communities. She is also studying for a Masters degree in Christian leadership with CYM.
Chris Jones
Warden of St Barnabas