Find out more about the team below.
Emma Anderton
Emma is the Childrens, Families and Youth Missioner for the Barking Episcopal Area, working across the Diocese with the rest of the Mustard Seed Team, supporting those called into Children and Young People's ministry.
She specialises in intergenerational worship, Messy Church, Godly Play, baptism & communion preparation, children’s spirituality and Youth Synod.
Carol Richards
I work part-time as Planning Research Officer for the diocese, advising on plans for new housing in Essex and East London and looking at the Christian presence in new and existing communities.
In my spare time I play the clarinet in an 1840s West Gallery Band and a 1940s Dance Band.
Revd Jessica Bostock
Hi, my name is Jessica and I am the Secretary to the Diocesan Director of Ordinands. This basically means that I am a minion, dealing with the paperwork for those who feel called to Ordained Ministry and the wider DDO Team members.
I do this for candidates from their first contact with the department right through training and up until they are ordained priests. This is a wonderful job and it is a joy and a privilege to be of service to those pursuing their vocations.
Revd Ann Coleman
A team of 10 tutors, in four centres, lead the modular Spirtual Companionship course. The Biblical foundation is the story of the Emmaus Road where Christ comes and travels alongside those two disciples on the first Easter evening. Spiritual companions are called to be life servants not life fixers to others and the tutor team model this experience in their facilitating of the course. I am also Parish Priest of All Saints Doddinghurst and to get around the village I have an electric tricycle!
Sue Denham
Sue Denham works to support the CMD Advisers, undertaking the administrative and organisational work which goes on behind the scenes.
Sue is the person who ensures payment of grants once the CMD Advisers have approved a grant application. If one or all of the Advisers are out of the office teaching on a course, Sue can often give advice.
Revd Tim Goodbody
The role of DDO is to listen to people who are sensing that God may be prompting them to explore a vocation as a priest. The DDO is attentive to the story of the individual’s life and faith as a whole.
A process of discernment helps the DDO decide whether to recommend to the Bishop that the person should be sent to a Bishop's Advisory Panel, who test the candidate's calling within the framework set by the Church of England and then recommend to their Bishop if they should be trained for Ordained Ministry.
Revd Canon Andy Griffiths
Andy Griffiths has been Bradwell Area CMD advisor since October 2017. In June 2023 he took on responsibility for wellbeing and formation, which includes areas such as annual reviews, counselling, coaching, mediation and deanery wellbeing champions. Previously, he was Director of Studies for a theological college in Hungary, was an incumbent for 12 years (including supervising three curates) and served as Area Dean for 10 years.
He was Head of Training for the Diocese until June 2023. He has written on church merger, the Moravian movement, formation, incumbency and the contribution of schools to ministerial formation, is a passionate believer in community organising, and has an interest in new monastic initiatives.
Caroline Harding
Caroline was licensed as an LLM in 2015 to 6 rural parishes in the Harlow Deanery. She has a busy ministry here leading Collective Worship in the 3 Church of England Schools within those parishes, taking regular Sunday services and numerous funerals.
She was appointed Lay Ministry Adviser in August 2020 and enjoys the opportunity of working within the Vocations and Training Team to discern, equip and celebrate the plethora of ministries within this diverse Diocese.
Diane Harding
Diane looks after the administration for all Lay ministry training, including the Course in Christian Studies, Pastoral Assistant, Licensed Lay Ministers and Authorised Local Preacher.
Diane joined the Diocese full time in November 2014, but now works part-time, from Tuesday to Thursday. She has a background in Financial Services, where she worked for nearly 25 years in Customer Services, as an administrator or Manager.
Revd Canon Ian Hilton
Ian took up this post as Coclhester Area CMD Adviser in May 2018. Within the CMD Team Ian is the Lead Adviser on Pioneer Ministry and Mission. His background is ten years in parish ministry in the Diocese of Southwell (curate, team vicar church planting in an outer estate) and then twenty years as Rector of a parish in Colchester here in Chelmsford Diocese.
During this time he also developed experience as a training incumbent, an Area Dean and held various Diocesan and community responsibilities. Ian has a particular interest in pioneer ministry in all its forms. He continues to be involved in the development of the Colchester Pioneer Hub and will be seeking to develop support for those on Pioneer training pathways. Ian loves walking having completed the Coast to Coast, Offa’s Dyke and the Cumbrian Way in recent years.
Sara Hodges
Sara is the Project Support Officer supporting Dawn Weddell with the Diocese Missional growth projects as well as supporting other projects in the Diocese.
Sara is a Prince2 qualified project manager and is also a qualified Swimming instructor who teaches adults and children every weekend at her local swimming pool.
Revd Canon Dr Elizabeth Jordan
Within the Diocesan Training Team I gather and deliver material on leadership. I facilitate training workshops for new incumbents, including lay people with significant parish responsibilities, for churchwardens and for Area Deans. I was ordained deacon in 1987 and priest in 1992 and have held a variety of parish and training roles.
I am particularly keen to encourage healthy relationships between lay and ordained members of God’s church – this was the subject of a doctorate I completed in 2017. I prefer to be outdoors, walking, gardening or sailing though when it’s cold I enjoy being inside, reading poetry and anything written about the politics of the Tudor Court.
Revd Hilary Le Seve
Revd Hilary Le Sève is our Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands (ADDO). She works with Revd Tim Goodbody overseeing the process of discernment for candidates offering for ordiained ministry in the church.
Revd Rob Merchant
Rob joined the Diocese of Chelsmford in 2020. His role is one that links together different aspects of the life of the diocese, including learning and development programmes for ordinands, clergy and lay leaders, vocations, ministerial development reviews, the work of our education team supporting 138 church schools, the Mustard Seed Team, our Strategic Development funded projects, and supporting the growth of new worshipping communities across Essex and East London.
Rob’s background is as varied as his role. He has worked as a care worker for people with learning difficulties and his ordained ministry has included being parish priest in urban and rural settings. He has worked as an academic, and more recently as Director of St Mellitus College, Chelmsford, Essex.
His interests include ageing, mental health and trauma. He is married to Tamsin, a vicar in the Diocese of London, and has two sons, aged 14 and 16. His passion in life is to see people flourish in the ministry to which they are called, in whatever walk of life that may be.
Belinda Ramsay
Belinda is the Children, Youth adn Families Adviser for the Barking Episcopal Area, working across the Diocese with the rest of the Mustard Seed Team, supporting those called into Children and Young People's ministry.
She specialises in additional needs, mental health & wellbeing (children & young people), working with young adults, schools' ministry and chaplaincy.
Revd Canon Jane Richards
Previously serving as Vicar of St Andrew with Holy Cross, Basildon and Area Dean for Basildon, Jane was appointed to the role of Barking Area CMD Adviser in December 2022. Withinthe CMD Team she takes the lead on Trainign, both IME2 and Leadership. She serves as a Vice President of Chelmsford Diocesan Synod, representing clergy across the Diocese.
Jane served her Title post in a Local Ecumenical Partnership and has also been employed as a hospital chaplain so has had experience of ministry in a range of contexts. Jane brigns a wealth of experience from her professional life prior to ordination, giving her a deep understandign of the parishes and communities the diocese serves.
Martin Roscoe
Martin Roscoe is a Licensed Lay minister and is one of the Diocesan Evangelism Training Co-ordinators. In serving in this role Martin is partly responsible for developing and delivering the Diocesan Local Evangelist and Evangelism Team Leader courses. Martin lives in Colchester with his wife Diane and serves as a Licensed Lay Minister in his local parish – Greenstead with St. Anne in Colchester.
Outside of church Martin works as a Presenter for a local, commercial radio station in Colchester, Actual Radio, and presents the weekday afternoon shows.
Dot Salmon
Dot is the Youth Adviser for the Colchester Episcopal Area, working across the Diocese with the rest of the Mustard Seed Team, supporting those called into Children and Young People's ministry.
She specialises in recruitment, advertising & employment, youth discipleship and developing young leaders, coaching and mentoring employed workers, volunteer recruitment & development, confirmation preparation and work with young adults (18-25).
Ann Sharp
Ann is the Early Years Adviser, working across the Diocese with the rest of the Mustard Seed Team, supporting those called into Children and Young People's ministry.
She specialises in work with children 0-5, pre-school & nursery settings, crèche, toddler and play groups, baptism preparation, nurturing faith, worship & RE within Early Years settings.
Steve Snooks
Steve is a volunteer in the Mission and Ministry team, helping to run the Diocesan Evangelism Training Programme. He is a retired cancer surgeon, LLM and now PTO in the Epping ministry team.
Dawn Weddel
Dawn is the Head of SDF Programme Management, overseeing the Diocese’s missional growth projects. As well as being a Prince2 qualified Programme Manager, Dawn is also a CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) qualified HR Manager. Dawn not only brings HR and project management skills to her role but has experience continuous improvement methodology.
She also brings wealth of knowledge and experience around volunteering as spent 11 years with Essex Police Special Constabulary, with six of those 11 years in a senior leadership role.
Sarah Wilson
Sarah joined Mission and Ministry in 2020. She manages Rob Merchant's diary adn workload, administers teh MDR review system and assists across the department in an administartive capacity, with particular reference to IME2 training and wellbeing.
Sarah has worked in church adminsitration since 2008, being Parish Administrator for the busy Witham Team ministry until 2017, then moving to be administartor at the Diocesan Retreat House in Plesehy. In her spare time she enjoys reading, film wathcing (Hello to Jason Issacs) and craft activites. She is a Lay Preacher in the United Reformed Church.