Rev Ashley Buck

Rector

 Ashley was born in Bridgnorth in 1961.  He read History at Manchester University and trained for the Ministry at Cuddesdon Theological College, with parish placements at Kirkby, Merseyside, and Rotherhithe, London.  He served as curate at Addington, Surrey and St Peter's Eaton Square, London, before returning to  Shropshire in the Wenlock Team Ministry, where in due course he became Rural Dean of Condover.  He moved to Cleobury Mortimer in 2003 and is now Rural Dean of Ludlow.  Ashley is married to Jo, and they have three grown-up children.

Rev David Eve

Assistant Clergy

David was born in 1945 and trained at King's College London and St Augustine's College Canterbury.  He was ordained Deacon in 1975 and ordained Priest the following year.  David has spent all his time in the West Midlands, starting out as curate at the Church of the Ascension (Diocese of Birmingham) where he remained for several years after ordination, then as Team Vicar at King's Norton from 1979-84, and as Vicar of Rowley Regis until 1993.  Before coming to live in Cleobury Mortimer David was a non-stipendiary minister at Hallow and Grimley with Holt, in the Diocese of Worcester.

Rev Sue Barrett

Assistant Clergy

Sue was born in  Berkshire in 1956, trained as a teacher and qualified with a BEd at Brighton University.  She taught in Worcestershire where she met James and married in 1981, they have three grown up children and six grandchildren. In 2003 she trained for Ordination at The Queens' Foundation in Birmingham.  She has been a Self Supporting Minister in two different parishes in Worcestershire but was called with James to open their home as a Retreat House in 2012.  A move to Cleobury Mortimer in 2017 has meant the Retreat work could grow alongside her role  as Assistant Minister in the Benefice.

Rev Sarah Lupton

Assistant Curate

Sarah was born in Cornwall in 1974, studied Biochemistry at Cardiff and has a PhD in Biological Sciences from Warwick University. Sarah studied part-time on the Cuddesdon Regional Pathway based in Ludlow (CGH) and at the Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham before being ordained deacon in 2023. Sarah is a self-supporting minister and is serving in the Benefice alongside working full-time in scientific innovation consultancy with universities and other organisations. Sarah met her husband Edward through bellringing and has two almost-grown up daughters.

Charlie Houston

Reader

Charlie grew up in Hertfordshire before attending university in Reading and serving four years in the Army. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and married Emma, a Shropshire girl in 1987; they have four adult children and currently live in Neen Sollars. Charlie came to faith after attending a guest service at HTB church in London and joined an Alpha course there in 1985. After becoming a Reader in 2001 he now helps to lead Alpha in the benefice, a prayer group on Monday nights and leads worship at Neen Sollars and sometimes elsewhere.

Paul Kemp

Reader

Paul grew up in Surrey in a family who worshipped in the local Baptist Church, before studying law at Leicester University, where he met his wife Avril through the Christian Union.  Paul became a Solicitor, specialising in family law and later trained as a Family Mediator practising both disciplines until 2013. 

Though past retirement age, Paul continues to enjoy working as a family mediator, and as a mentor to other mediators, and regards it as a part of his Christian Ministry. Having lived in Worcestershire for many years, Paul and Avril moved to Cleobury Mortimer in 2019 for family reasons.

Because of the demands of his family mediation work, Paul’s ministry as a Reader has been principally as a preacher of God’s Word and leading worship.  This is likely to continue to be the case in the Cleobury Benefice.

Mark Greaves

Youth and Family Worker

Mark grew up in the Lake District, moving to Oxfordshire in the mid ’90’s. He started working for Midlands Electricity Board in 2001. Upon completion of his apprenticeship he worked in the faults department as a cable jointer. In 2006 he made a decision to take a year out and applied to to become an Activity Instructor at the Pioneer Centre. The plan was always to go back after 12 months but God had other plans. In 2008 Mark and his friend Bev started volunteering for SMYP, moving the monthly fun session at the Pioneer Centre to a weekly youth club based in the Parish Hall. In 2009 Mark started the long road to completing a distance learning degree in Youth Work through the Open University (it took 7 years!). In 2010 the youth work had grown so much that the PCC made the bold move to employ Mark as full time Youth Worker with very little funding but a faith that God was in it and would provide. Mark married his friend Bev in 2010 and they now have two children who are very much part of the work of SMYP. Their trust and faith in Jesus is what drives their commitment to this community and to see young people and their families become the best version of themselves.