Church staff | Christ Church Spitalfields

Church staff

Here are some of the people involved with leading and running Christ Church


	Our Rector Andy Rider grew up in Sussex. At the age of 19, Andy became a Christian and shortly afterwards began to follow God's call upon his life; first as a psychiatric nurse, then working for Barnardos in a children's home before training for ministry in the Church of England. Since ordination Andy has worked in churches in the Medway towns and central London, he has also been chaplain to a Special Care baby unit and the New London Theatre. Andy, with his wife Carol and their three children moved to Spitalfields November 2003 from the West End where he had been on the staff of All Souls Langham Place as the 'Clubhouse Vicar' for the last ten years. Whilst leading the Clubhouse Andy and the youth work team launched one of the first Christian mentoring schemes in the country working with teenagers at risk of social exclusion. He also oversaw a building refurbishment programme for which he did a sponsored parachute jump! Whilst in London Andy has been an honorary chaplain to the New London Theatre and written a short booklet on Time, space and God.
	Our curate Rod Green grew up in South Wales, read History at Reading University, Biblical Interpretation at London School of Theology and Applied Theology at Oxford University. He's married to Joanne and he's worked as a Chaplaincy Assistant, a Researcher for an MP and as a community worker for a church in Islington. He has recently been ordained as a minister in the Church of England having trained at Wycliffe Hall. He is passionate about theology and about telling others about Jesus. He supports Chelsea, dabbles in popular culture, music and fashion, loves watching movies and keeps fit by going to the gym early in the morning.
	Alice Cooper works with the Bangladeshi community especially the women and children - in the parish and encouraging/equipping members of the church to do the same. Before coming to Christ-Church she spent 2years in N.W. India working with a tribe there and then completed a degree in biblical and cross-cultural studies at All Nations Christian College.
	Ava Bose has been working with the church for 18 years in the local community, her vision is to demonstrate God's love. Ava came from Calcutta to bible college 20 years ago, travelled around Europe and then settled in the East End.
	Lisa-Raine Hunt works part-time in the Christ Church office. Trained as an art curator, she spends the rest of the week organising artists' projects across London and is currently developing a contemporary Arts programme for Christ Church. Lisa-Raine lives in Bethnal Green with her husband Jackson.
	David Bishop: "My role is to oversee the management and maintenance of all the buildings at Christ Church. I work closely with other members of the team including the bookings co-ordinator, Welcome Officer and Head Verger. As well as being used for church meetings, the church is open to the public and also available for hire as a venue. See our website www.spitalfieldsvenue.org for more information."
	Anisa Johnny: "As the Bookings Co-ordinator I am responsible for following up daily enquiries from prospective clients and promoting the venue to the widest audience. It is a challenging and exciting opportunity to welcome corporate, charity and community groups into Christ Church alongside the church congregation. I also hope to spend my time developing long lasting relationships between Christ Church and the local community from corporate to creative and everything in between!"
	Rachel Jones: Rachel manages a team of volunteers who welcome visitors to the church on Sunday afternoons and Tuesdays, and she is also overseeing the development of the arts, education and heritage programme.
	Iesah Littledale, Head Verger, is responsible for the day to day running of the church building and for creating a welcoming environment that reflects our Christian values. He is a Yorkshire lad from the sunny(??) coastal town of Bridlington. His interests include mountain biking, tennis, films, music and eating!
	Hosten Garraway was born in Carriacou, a Caribbean island, off Grenada. He came to England in the 1960's and lived in Spitalfields, which was then mainly a Jewish community. Hosten has had various jobs, he trained as a Grade A welder , but had to give this up after a serious accident. In 1988, he was offered a caretakers job at Christ Church. He subsequently became a Parish Assistant and then Verger. Hosten loves playing golf and fishing. He has four children and is married to Hilary.
	Dr Will Spiring has been a Church Warden since 2000 and is a local GP. He joined the church in 1998 along with his wife Hannah and they live in the parish. Together they both run a home group and are generally busy with their growing family.
	Derek Stride moved to Spitalfields in the late 60s. He has attended Christ Church for over 35 years and been involved in all parts of church life. He has been a trustee on the Restoration Committee for about 20 years. He is a teacher in a local special school. Married to Tej, with 4 large children. Interests – Outdoor Pursuits (kayak) especially for local young people.