Meet the team...
Team mugshots
Chris is Acting Rector for our network of churches. He was ordained in 2018 after training at St Mellitus Theological College, London. Before ordination, Chris worked in the energy industry, having originally trained as an offshore engineer. He is married to Pauline, and they have four children. Chris loves spending time with family, building wooden boats (very slowly...), having a houseful of people eating and talking, and anything to do with the sea.
email: chris@moretolife.church
phone: 01256 702918
Simon is our Vicar of Upton Grey and prior to being ordained in 2005 he carried out his training at Wycliffe College Oxford and Ripon College Cuddesdon and OakHill. Before ordination, Simon did quite a few degrees, set up some businesses and spent a lot of time racing cars. He is married to Hannah, and they have three daughters. Simon still spends time racing cars to relax.
email: simon@moretolife.church
phone: 01256 861706
Originally from Tyne & Wear, Matt is Vicar of Odiham. Matt used to be a youth worker for a church in Southampton, before training for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He was ordained in 2019, serving his curacy in Hartley Wintney before joining the team here.
Matt is married to Amy and they have 3 children. He loves to sit and chat over a good cup of coffee, though if a board game is involved somewhere, even better!
email: matt@moretolife.church
Gillian is married to Gary and has two grown up sons and a new grandson. They love country walks, the National Trust, travelling and entertaining.
Gillian is the vicar at Long Sutton and South Warnborough. She is loving the two country villages which have such a strong sense of community. She wants to see church and community grow together even more.
email: gillian@moretolife.church
Paul has recently joined All Saints Church, Odiham, to work alongside Helen Chatfield as our new Youth Pastor. Paul is married to Mirjam and has recently moved to the UK from New Zealand (Aotearoa).
Paul has worked with youth, families and children for the past 16 years in both voluntary and paid positions. He worked for ten years with Scripture Union New Zealand as a children and families ministry consultant before moving into church-based ministry roles in Auckland.
Paul is passionate about helping young people explore the many different ways our faith and life can be guided and nurtured. When Paul isn’t excitedly talking about children, faith and church he enjoys walks with his wife, reading (big John Grisham fan), watching and playing football, and spending quality time with family and friends.
email: paul@moretolife.church
Helen is our Youth Pastor and, prior to joining us, she worked as primary school teacher all over the place, following her husband Michael’s job as a military chaplain around the country. They have have two teenage daughters, Hannah and Naomi. Helen loves getting out into the country, long walks with family and friends and, best of all, curling up by a roaring log fire with a board game and hot chocolate afterwards! Known for having crazy pets and getting up to slightly wacky antics, Helen will never be too far from her next cup of strong coffee!
email: youth@moretolife.church
phone: 07540 140228
After a career in the travel industry, Linda trained at STETS in Salisbury for part-time, self supporting ministry and was ordained in 2014. She is married to Lewis, with three married step-daughters and seven grandchildren. Relaxation is found in unequal measure through cooking for family and friends, golf (enthusiastic rather than skilful), walking, and following Aldershot Town Football Club as a supporter and chaplain. Somebody has to!
email: linda@moretolife.church
phone: 01256 704835
mobile: 07801 039717
Revd Debbie Veel lives in Basingstoke and is married to Chris with 3 grown-up children and 3 small granddaughters. Debbie did her first year of training at Church Mission Society in Oxford alongside some amazing pioneers with extra-ordinary ideas about reaching non churched folk. Her final year has been with Winchester School of Mission, which has really helped her to see what parts of her faith are important to her and why. So, it has been a bit of an unusual pathway, but one that that has been amazing. Debbie was ordained in July 2023 and is a part-time minister (SSM). She will be doing her 4 year curacy in the North Hampshire Downs Benefice. Debbie is a Distinctive Deacon (permanent Deacon) which means she has a more community facing role. She has pastoral responsibility for St. Nicholas' Church, Newnham, but works across the whole Benefice.
email: debbie@moretolife.church
Alan is one of our Licensed Lay Ministers (formerly known as Readers). He moved to Odiham in 2010 after being part of the Basingstoke Team Ministry and before that the Candover Valley. In his working life he had a varied clerical career starting in ladies underwear then lorries, fork lift trucks, aircraft instruments and finally at RAF Odiham. He is married to Sue and for relaxation enjoys walking which is good for the legs and Church bell ringing which he’s been doing for the last 50 plus years and which exercises the arms and brain.
email: alanhoar@yahoo.co.uk
Suzanne is the Pastoral Care Minister for the benefice and a Licensed Lay Minister attached to Herriard Church. She has a long connection with the benefice having been a teacher at Long Sutton School for 17 years before training as a lay minister. She is married to John with one daughter, Elizabeth. In her spare time she loves to visit historic properties and is a member of the National Trust. She enjoys singing in choirs.
email: suzanne@moretolife.church
Cat is our Administrator, is married with 2 boys and is a lifelong Odiham resident. She loves helping out with Children's Church, ASAS Club, and The Table.
Cat went to Surrey University to study music production and acoustic engineering, and has a background in profit protection, logistics and project management.
Cat’s loves include music (mainly rock) and karaoke, eating with friends and family, cooking, kitchen discos with her boys and getting out and about in nature, especially near the ocean.
email: cat@moretolife.church
Joanna is the administrator for All Saints Church in Odiham, and PA to the Vicar of Odiham. She studied Personnel Management at Kent University and her career before having her two children, (George and Sophie) was in Human Resources working for both the Civil Service and Private Sector. She is married to John and is trying hard to grow green gardening fingers but mainly only on warm days! Joanna loves word games, and is a daily Wordle and Scrabble fanatic!
email: joanna@moretolife.church