Minister

Mary Cantacuzene

07932 033019

Mary Cantacuzene has been serving as a self-supporting minister since she was ordained in 2005, whilst continuing her work as a Counsellor and Psychotherapist in her own private practice. She has lived near Bures for more than 40 years and now lives in the village. She has a particular interest in pastoral care, spiritual direction and Ignatian meditation. Mary describes herself as a ‘rather bad’ bridge player and ‘seriously addicted’ to The Archers.  She has three children and seven grandchildren.

Minister

Simon White

07572 418555

Simon White has been serving as a self-supporting minister since he was ordained in 2016, whilst continuing to work full-time in the electronics industry. He has lived in the village of Assington for more than 25 years where his minstry is primarily focussed. Simon runs to keep fit but his main sporting passion is rowing which he trains for on the nearby River Stour. He is married with two children and has a grandson.

Reader

Andrew Clifft

01787 227648

Andrew became a Reader in June 2015.  He enjoys preaching and has a great enthusiasm for the Old Testament. He is married to Miranda and they have four children. Andrew is a full time dental surgeon and has a practice in Sudbury. He is a poor but enthusiastic golfer and avidly supports Leicester City.

Reader

Murray Emerson

01787 269073

Murray has been a Lay Reader for 14 years. He is married to Sue who is our Organist. They have two grown up sons. He has worked in the City of London for 47 years, enjoys playing golf and following the fortunes of the England Cricket team – very much a roller coaster ride!

Reader

John Symons

01787 211534

John has been a Lay Reader for 14 years and has happily lived in the village of Assington for over 40 years.  John is a retired Consultant Paediatrician and thoroughly enjoys his ministry in the Benefice.  He is married to Louisa and they have three grown up children.

Reader

Sylvia Gaspar

01787 204033

Sylvia was an Elder at St Mary’s for 12 years before training to be a Reader. She was licenced at the Cathedral in January 2022 and has enjoyed being part of the Ministry Team leading services and preaching.
She moved to live in Bures in 2017 but has been an active member of St Mary’s for about 30 years. She worked in a variety of Dementia Care settings, specialising in activity provision and training. She is married and has 2 adult children, she enjoys gardening, English Folk Dancing and crafts.

Elders

We have five Elders in Bures who are involved in pastoral care, leading worship, preparing couples for marriage, looking after the elderly, helping out a youth club and offering prayer ministry.  Our wonderful Elders are:

Andrea Carter, Sue Emerson, Sarah Pryor, Sue Ryman and Carol Barnham. 

Church Wardens

Our dedicated churchwarden, Chris Tomkinson, is responsible for many of the practical aspects of running the church, from overseeing the upkeep of the building to ensuring our Sunday services run smoothly.

Benefice Administrator

Nicola is our Benefice Administrator.  She assists the Ministry Team, Wardens and Treasurers by dealing with enquiries, maintaining records,  compiling the church news, sorting out publicity, printing resources and any number of church related things…

Nicola is married to Andy and has a busy home life.  She has two teenage children and an adventurous dog called ‘Ted’.

 Nicola may be contacted at the Church Office via the Contact us page.