Who's Who
Jennifer Brown
Lay Reader
Jennifer has lived in the Parish since 1968. Licensed by the Bishop as Reader to the Parish in 1989, and the Diocese in 1990, Jennifer preaches, conducts the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, takes Funerals and does Pastoral visits, including taking Holy Communion to the housebound. Jennifer received her Archbishops' Diploma For Readers on June 9, 2000, her subject being "Spirituality and Dementia: our sense of being". Jennifer chairs the local Women's World Day of Prayer Committee.
Tel: (0191) 268 6237. Email Jennifer
Chris Gravell
Church Warden
Christina has lived in Benton for the last 15 years and worships at St Bartholomew's since moving into the area. She is a retired Personal Administrator at Greggs where she had worked for 30 years. She was appointed warden in 2018. Christina is married to Bob, who is part of the Church Working Party. Christina and Bob have three grandchildren. One aspect she particularly enjoys and finds most rewarding is pastoral care. Christina is involved with the Basement Project.
Tel No. 07906262951
David Cowen
Church Warden
David was born in Heaton and moved to the Benton area in the late 1950s and attended St. Bartholomew's School. He moved to the Tyne Valley with his wife, Jackie and children, James and Elizabeth. David returned to Benton in 1998 and returned to worshipping at St Bartholomew's Church. He retired from a career in the food ingredients industry in 2012. Both David and Jackie's granddaughters, Millie and Olivia, who are currently at St Mary's Catholic School, were pupils at St Bart's Primary School.
Tel No. 07774096080
Louise Barnfather
Parish Administrator
Louise's role as Parish Administrator is extremely varied and it would be a lengthy process to describe all aspects of the job. Her priority is to give everyone who comes into St. Bart’s Parish Office a friendly welcome and to be happy to help. If you wish to book a Wedding or a Baptism, She is the person who can do this and she will provide you with all the information that you need. She also deals with all the Church Hall bookings and can show you around the Hall and answer any queries you may have regarding this. She does the Administration which is involved in the day to day running of the Church and produces the Church Newsletter, information leaflets and generally makes sure that the Church life runs as smoothly as possible.