Our Minister
Revd Jo Clare-Young

Hi, I’m Jo and I’ve been minister here since April 2026.
I have been in ministry long enough to know that church works best when it is messy and real and nobody is pretending to have it all together. My husband is also a URC minister and takes services here regularly too. Between us we have quite a lot of books and not enough shelf space.

I am a storyteller at heart. I think faith is transmitted more reliably through narrative than through bullet points, and I try to bring that into every sermon, prayer and conversation. I love being outside, and I think laughter is a sacred act. The best moments in my week are often the unplanned ones, where a walk in the woods turns into a conversation about God, or where somebody says something unexpectedly funny in the middle of a serious meeting and the whole room breathes out.

My dog Digger comes to the church office with me some days. He is a terrible assistant but an excellent greeter. If you visit, he will probably wag his whole body at you and then fall asleep on the floor. This seems like a good spiritual practice to me.

I believe in a God who is bigger than our boxes and a church that makes room for every kind of person. I am interested in justice that shows up in the day to day, in the earth we are called to care for, and in building communities where people who have been hurt by religion can find something gentler. I write prayers that try to sound like real people talking, not like religious press releases. I think Jesus would rather we argued honestly than performed niceness.

If you want to talk about faith, doubt, dogs, or why you are nervous about church, my door is open. I am better at listening than at having all the answers. That is probably how it should be. Get in touch by emailing cchubdesk and they can pass on a message.