Our Minister is the Rev'd Mary Thomas she began her Minstry here in July 2004 with her husband Paul & children

Mary was born in Aberystwyth, the youngest of five children, although the family left there when she was two years old. Her father was a Presbyterian minister and left Wales for the North East of England. She grew up in Teesside, then moved to Tyneside in 1972 following the birth of the URC and her father became the first Provincial Moderator for the Northern Province. Her mother was an RE teacher and later a Non-Stipendiary Minister.

Mary studied Theology at Hull (BA Hons) then, following a year of voluntary work in Edinburgh, offered to train as a Church Related Community Worker in the URC. She worked in Harrow for three years, where she met Paul, and they moved to Gorleston on Sea in 1986. Having done some counselling training and worked with various voluntary organisations, Mary felt that her skills were suited better to Social Work than Community Work. She got a job as Officer in Charge of a Residential Home for people with Mental Health problems, and this led her to work in 'field' social work with Social Services in Great Yarmouth, specialising in Mental Health. Mary and Paul moved to Swindon in 1995, for Paul's job, and after a maternity break, Mary got a part time job in Oxford City, working as a Social Worker on a specialist over 65's Mental Health team. Mary had long felt called to offer for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, but had resisted her call, Jonah was her role model! She felt unable to put this off any longer, and put herself forward to her church in Haydon Wick, Swindon in 1997. She trained at Mansfield, and was ordained in her home church in 2001.

Mary is a bit of a workaholic, but when she is relaxing likes to do things with the children or unwind doing some gardening. Mary loves music and grew up singing in choirs. She likes to sing Alto, but this is difficult alone!! She has long felt that her spiritual growth has always been fed by music in some way or another.