About Us
We are a large, lively Anglican church, gathering people from all walks of life. We value good Bible teaching and living out the message of the Bible in a church family context, led by the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are made for a relationship with God, through Jesus, who loves each of us passionately and cares deeply for us, and we seek to share God’s love with the local and wider community.
On Sundays we celebrate together through various styles, from a modern band to traditional hymns and organ, and we encourage you to have a look at our Sunday meetings as well as ways to get involved at Greyfriars.
We have lots of people who contribute to the life of Greyfriars Church and we’d love to introduce you to a few of those.
Meet the team
Clergy
David Walker Vicar
Joy Atkins Associate Vicar
John Freeman Curate
Ministry Heads
Dan Bright
Youth Pastor
Sam Brown
Student Pastor
Heather Harper
Children's Pastor
Julian Rowlandson
Operations & Finance Director
Pete Willmot
Worship Pastor
Church Wardens
Debs Jeffries
Church Warden
Harvey Jessop
Church Warden
Parochical Church Council
Ayo Akintoye
Jonny Alden
Joy Atkins
Kat Clay
Alan Cross
Mark Hinckley
Harvey Jessop
Alfred Kolawole
Nick Lam
John Ledger
Katy Lyne
John Missenden
Tanya Newell
Simon Porter (Treasurer)
Arfon Rees (Chair)
Steve Smith
Margaret Stone
Chris Tinker
David Walker
Mal Summers (Secretary)
Deepa Senapathi
Matt Riley
Jennifer Nhau
Carol Atkins
Debs Jeffries
Ben Searle Barnes
Lay Licensed Ministers
Philip Giddings
Chris Ledger
Dennis Parker
John Ledger
History
The building of Greyfriars Church was completed in 1311 by Franciscans, followers of St Francis of Assisi who were monks, then called friars, who wore grey, hence the name Greyfriars. It is now a Grade 1 listed building, being the oldest Franciscan building still used for worship in the UK. The church was completely refurbished in 2000, which means that we meet in a light and airy building amidst the ancient walls.
The Franciscans arrived in Reading in 1233 with the aim of telling people about Jesus and serving the local population, which continues to be the main aim of Greyfriars Church today.
For a fuller history, a limited edition 'History of Greyfriars Church, Reading' by Malcolm Summers is available from Greyfriars Bookshop.