Moreteavicar.org
About Me
I am Vicar of the parish of St Mary's Marshalswick (near St Albans) having moved from Harpenden in September 2009. St Mary's is a lively and welcoming church in a modern (1950's) building. Our worship is mainly Eucharistic and for those who enjoy labels we sit somewhere between 'central' and 'liberal catholic'. Details of St Mary's' services can be found on the church website.
I am also chaplain (Padre) to 795 Squadron Air Cadets (The ATC). This is a youth organisation funded by the RAF. My Squadron attracts recruits from St Albans, Sandridge, Marshalswick, Harpenden and beyond and I welcome the opportunity this gives me to Minister to teenagers who have no other links to a local church.
I was born in London, Islington at a very young age, just after my twin brother Graham. We entered this world as the children of an Irish Roman Catholic mother and a Scottish Presbyterian father, and so had what many might consider an inter-faith upbringing. One week a Catholic Priest would clip us round the ear for forgetting to bow; the next week a Presbyterian minister would clip us round the ear because we did bow. The comfort of a broad and liberal Anglican church was where I naturally sought refuge as a teenager.
I was confirmed at the age of eighteen and as my faith grew and developed I found myself changing thoughts and opinions on almost everything more than once. Through all those times of seeking, questioning and doubting, the Church of England has been wide enough to be my home — a spiritual compass yet never a dictator. I am liberal to the point of embracing those with whom I completely disagree and I pray that the Anglican Church will always remain broad and inclusive. It is what makes us unique.
I am married to Bridget and we have two children. John is 20 and reading English at Lancaster. Charlotte is 16 and in the middle of her GCSE studies at St Georges Harpenden. We lived in Watford (before moving to Cuddesdon where I trained for ministry) and worshipped in our parish church, St Michael and All Angels where I was a server and Church Warden. Bridget and I both enjoyed serving on the PCC.
My pre ordination career began with a traditional apprenticeship in electronics and I then specialised in Microprocessor design within the defence industry. I have taught electronics and programming to adults in further education and have worked as a social worker among adults with learning difficulties.
Latterly I returned to electronics and in my last post with Fuji Film I was responsible for quality control across the design, production and service departments. I spent a good deal of my time abroad, mostly in Japan, Europe and North America and I was responsible for product quality worldwide and for the implementation of manufacturing changes to existing products. I reported directly to the board of directors and travelled worldwide to ensure the quality of new products at time of launch. Travelling so widely on business means that I can now order beer and request a VAT receipt in many different languages; not that useful for a curate but watch out for travel anecdotes in my sermons.
My dyslexia (not diagnosed until I got to Cuddesdon) caused a number of incidents at work. Most notable was the memo I sent to 2,500 engineers, where I asked them to assess a problem urgently. I missed the final 's' off the word 'assess' and then used a piece of software to translate my memo into German. My German colleague then further translated and distributed the memo worldwide asking engineers to attend site immediately with a donkey! The mistake was discovered when a Japanese engineer politely enquired as to whether a small horse was acceptable.
My main hobby is the restoration of vintage and classic motorcycles, both Japanese and British. I currently keep a 1982 GS1100, a 1957 Royal Enfield 500cc single cylinder and a 1994 Suzuki DR650 along with two smaller and more practical motorcycles for daily use. Bridget is always keen that I reduce the number of motorcycles I own but I remain insistent that a motorcycle in bits does not count towards my negotiated maximum of three bikes at any one time.
I enjoy walking my two dogs in the countryside and this is my main form of relaxation. I am a keen but unskilled gardener and I particularly enjoy growing my own vegetables.
Gary.
Gary Russell,
St Mary's, Marshalswick