NEIL APPADURAI was born in Madurai, India and grew up in Chennai for the first 27 years of his life. He grew up in a Christian family, his Dad (Late Mr John Appadurai) being the inspiration of his faith. His faith is not a single day conversion rather it’s like building a house brick after brick over time. After University and working in India, he  moved to Nottingham in 2005. He has been worshiping in St Jude’s where a few more bricks of faith have been laid on. His inspiration now comes from his wife, 2 blessed kids and his lovely mum. The journey to serve God as an LLM started over 8 years ago when his Vicar friend in Dover said that God may be calling Neil to serve as a Lay minister. After putting it off for 5 years, he took the decision to do it. Here we are 3 years later after doing the RealLIFE course and Lay Ministry training, ready to take the next step. By the way: he loves Cricket and enjoys his nap on Sunday afternoons.

Neil is being licensed to the Revd John Allister in the Benefice of Nottingham St Jude. 

TOM BARRON was brought up in Bristol and then lived in the east end of London and in leafy Surrey before moving to Nottingham in 2001. He has practised as a solicitor for nearly 40 years. He is married to Sonia and they have two grown up sons, Jonathan and David.  He considered a possible call to ordained ministry in the 1990s but settled for being a vicar’s husband as from 2011 and served as an ALM in Lincoln diocese. He plays table-tennis because you get more hits at the ball for your pound than you do in golf, and enjoys music, hill-walking, spiders, reading and trying his hand at Indian cooking.

Tom is being licensed to the Revd Maureen Collins in the Benefice of St Ann with Emmanuel.

ANNE COYNE has lived in Newark on Trent for all of her life and has worshipped at St Mary Magdalene church since 2007.  Her calling to serve God has grown through serving as a Eucharistic Assistant, and joining the ministries of reading and leading intercessions as well as being a member of PCC.  She works for the Diocese as Digital Giving Adviser helping to inform parishes about Digital Giving and supporting parishes with Generosity programmes.  Anne loves walking and has an MA in Local History and studies medieval merchants and clerics in her spare time and is hoping to explore pilgrimage to encourage discipleship in believers and people of no faith. 

Anne will be licensed to the Revd Chris Lion in the Benefice of Newark on Trent St. Mary Magdalene with St. Leonard.

Gary DITCHFIELD lives in the Woodthorpe area of Nottingham with his wife Kerri, and they have been members of St Marks, Woodthorpe for 25 years. They have 6 amazing children and 3 grandchildren. Gary has worked in public services for 38 years and is currently a road safety educator. Having witnessed hardship in our communities and yet having been so blessed in life by all of his family, Gary’s calling to love and serve the Lord and our neighbours has grown over a number of years, leading to this service today and receiving the Bishop’s licence to minister. His ministry includes leading services and preaching the word of God, alongside youth work, missional initiatives and chaplaincy for Nottinghamshire Police, where he seeks to provide support and hope to those that serve in our neighbourhoods. Gary’s interests include the outdoors, camping and socialising with family and friends. Gary is being licensed to the Revd Matt Roberts in the Benefice of Woodthorpe.

JO HARRISON has been the Youth Minister at St Mary’s Church East Leake and the surrounding villages for eight years. Becoming an LLM is part of her journey to having a wider leadership role within the church. She became a Christian in her first term at university. Due to physical ill health and struggles with mental health, Jo’s story of faith has had many ups and downs but ultimately led to a deep reliance on God in all areas. She testifies that God is her Rock and life works best when she stays connected to him. Jo is married to Phil who has been a huge support while training to be an LLM and keeps her grounded in both faith and calling.  Jo is being licensed to the Revd Tim Parker in the Benefice of East Leake, West Leake, Stanford-on-Soar, Rempstone and Costock.

JOANNE PARR has lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield for most of her life, serving the local community throughout. She joined the congregation at New Cross Community Church in 2010 with her husband Adam and four children Saralee, Robert, Callum and later George.  She found comfort and developed her faith after losing her child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Joanne finds great comfort in the support of the congregation who continue to encourage her development in faith and leadership. She currently serves as the Churchwarden and group leader for lots of activities and projects at New Cross Community Ecumenical (Methodist with Church of England) Church, including providing events to reduce loneliness and comforting those who are experiencing bereavement. Joanne’s lived experiences shape many aspects of her ministry as she works to help others in her community to be well supported. Following her licensing she is looking forward to continuing this, connecting people of different backgrounds together in faith.  Joanne is being licensed to The Revd Canon Dr Richard Kellett in the Benefice of Sutton-in-Ashfield St Michael and All Angels.

Nimisha PATEL lives in Nottingham with her son, Anay. She works for Nottinghamshire County Council in the Public Health Department. In 2019, she gave her life to Jesus and has since experienced God’s goodness and faithfulness through transformative personal testimonies. Nimisha felt God’s calling while actively serving at St. John’s church in Bilborough, where she continues to serve. She enjoys reading, walking, and spending time in nature. She is excited to serve both the church and the community with God’s guidance and strength.

Nimisha is being licensed to The Revd Rich Atkinson in the Benefice Bilborough and Strelley.

MARTIN SKIPWORTH is an Engineer and Royal Navy Veteran. Martin is married to Nicky (the Vicar), and together they have been serving in the diocese since 2018. They have three children.

Martin is being licensed to The Revd Nicky Skipworth in the inclusive Benefice of Harworth.

DIANNE STEVENSON grew up in the Meadows, Nottingham and met her future husband, David, whilst worshipping at St Saviour’s Church where he was the curate training for ministry – together they have 5 children, all in their 20s and 30s: Cash, Candice, Esther, Elspeth and Jesse.  Di has always been involved with young people in the church and her passion is writing holiday clubs for Scripture Union and CPAS, as well as plays and bible study material to enable young people to come to faith.  In 2008 David became vicar of St Mary’s Church Eastwood with Brinsley and Underwood, moving the family back to this Diocese. Di works as a Haematology/Oncology nurse in Nottingham. She has a passion for cooking and feeding others, reading, and (more recently) crocheting, as well as spending time with family and friends and helping those that need it. Against all her expectations,  God has made time for her to explore LLM, constantly reminding her of Ecclesiastes 3, which finishes with verse 14 “This is a gift from God.” Di thanks God daily for the opportunity to be His disciple, as well as all her family, friends and church family for all their support and encouragement. She’d encourage anyone thinking about their sense of calling to just take that leap of faith for Christ!  Diane is being licensed to the Revd David Stevenson in the Benefice of Eastwood and the Benefice of Brinsley with Underwood. 

JULIET TWUMASI was born in Ghana, West Africa in a city called Kumasi. She had a faith from an early age, following her parents as they preached and taught from house to house as Jehovah’s witness when she was aged only 5 – later, she joined in the ministry herself. Moving to the UK in 2004, brought a change in circumstances that led to a questioning of faith, eventually drawing closer to God when a friend invited her to an Anglican church in London. Following an alpha course, Juliet rediscovered God and felt a real calling to use the gifts God has endowed in her – initially getting involved in lots of different ministries. In 2019 she relocated to Nottingham and joined St John’s church in Bilborough. LLM training have been excellent, challenging, and encouraging, it has been an incredible journey of transformation and learning, but above all, Juliet describes it as a journey of learning to depend on God.

Juliet is being licenced to The Revd Rich Atkinson in Benefice of Bilborough and Strelley.