Church Leaders

Richard Hopkins is Rector of the United Benefice of Sileby, Cossington and Seagrave.   Richard took up his post in July 2006 after serving for four years in a church in Derbyshire.  He is married to Rosie and they have two boys - James and Tom and a chocolate Labrador called Millie.  Richard is originally from Cambridge; Leicestershire is the tenth county he has lived in and, he hopes, the last for some time!  He has a love of cricket and is an avid completer of the Times sudoku puzzle.

David Lower is the benefice Curate.  He started his role in July 2010 and will be here for a number of years learning how to be a vicar.  David is married to Naomi and they have two girls, Kezia and Anna.  The family have no pets at the moment but are hoping to set up their tropical fish tank once they are more settled in.  David grew up in Hertfordshire and worked as an accountant for nine years before changing career.  The family lived in Maidenhead before moving to Oxford for two years whilst David completed his training to be a vicar at Wycliffe Hall.  David is a keen footballer and hoping to join a local team.  He is also looking forward to watching the Leicester Tigers play this season and hoping to explore the area on his bike.

Sam Brewster grew up in Derbyshire and is our first Ministry Assistant.  He went to university for four years where, amongst a number of very enjoyable things, he studied music for two years and then theology for two.  He’s a keen (if slightly mediocre) squash player and likes going running and climbing up mountains.  Music is his big thing- he plays viola and bass guitar (not at the same time yet) and likes listening to all sorts (favs at the mo, Radiohead, Herbie Hancock, Stravinsky).  He’s got a brother in Manchester, Sister in Edinburgh, two parents in Prague and a chocolate brown Labrador called Louis (unfortunately also in Prague).  As far as he can tell, Leicestershire is pretty much the same as Derbyshire with fewer hills and more rain, but despite that is very glad to be here for at least the next year.  His role is chiefly working with children and young people, but is / will be involved in many areas of church life across the 3 parishes.

John Backhouse is a retired Church of England minister who moved to Sileby with his wife, Mary, in 1994.  Having helped through two vacancies he is happy still to be taking two Sunday services each month.  Born in Hampshire in 1930 and ordained in 1953, he has served in the dioceses of Liverpool, Lincoln, Leicester and Lahore, mainly in parish work but also for 14 years as an area chaplain for the Church Mission Society.  John and Mary have lived in four vicarages, two CMS houses, one council house and three sets of lodgings.  Having tamed several wild gardens John is now creating his own!  (Sadly, Mary died in March 2007.)  He has three children, ten grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.  There used to be rabbits and chicken: now there’s just a dog – a Border Collie cross named Sam.  John has a passion for history, especially the story of the growth of the Christian church.

John Dean is a Reader in the Benefice.  After Army National Service in Nigeria and a short time of teaching Agriculture at a Mission Secondary School, he had three roles and 39 years with Scripture Union (SU).  He had 10 years as a Schools' Travelling Secretary in Nigeria and 15 years travelling Africa-wide as Coordinator of SU work in that continent, living in Africa from 1955 to 1983.  He then had 14 years as SU International Training Consultant travelling worldwide from Seagrave.  Involvement in God's Church worldwide is a continuing challenge.  John is married to Jan.  His hobbies are jogging, cycling, vegetable-growing and poultry-keeping.

Heather Sewell is also a Reader.  She was born and brought up in Sheffield and moved to Leicestershire to take up a first teaching post in Birstall, after completing a music degree at Huddersfield and a PGCE at Bretton Hall.  Heather is currently Head at Cossington C of E Primary School.  She plays 'cello regularly with the Bardi and Heart of England orchestras.  She also owns a 16:2 chestnut gelding and hopes that they don't part company for many years to come!

John Harrison is a Reader in the Benefice.  He grew up in Nottingham and lived most of his adult life near Derby until his wife died tragically in 2002.  In 2003 he met and married Geraldine and moved to Coventry; they then moved to Sileby in September 2008.  John, an accountant, became a Christian in the mid-1980’s and soon afterwards was accredited as a Local Preacher in the Methodist Church and has now been preaching for 20 years.  He has been involved in outreach missions throughout the UK and helped to run many Alpha courses in the Derby area.  He has two brothers, one of whom spent many years as a missionary in Peru.  John has two sons and Geraldine has two daughters, a son and 5 grandsons.  Hobbies include watching football, collecting music and film from the 1950’s and 1960’s and occasionally playing golf.