Welcome Letter -  Rev Rachel Jeffreys

I am delighted to start working as a church enabler at Lee mount and I really look forward to getting to know each of you. To help you get to know me here is a little bit about me: I grew up in a Christian family and through them I came to know Christ from an early age. I was baptised at 13. After an absence in my teenage years I came back to church in my early 20s.

I was involved in various positions in my home church in London including Sunday school leader, Boys Brigade officer and eventually an elder.

Through my life I have come to rely more and more on Jesus who I have found has carried me through my ups and downs. In my own prayer life I spend a lot of time sitting or walking with God. I find he speaks to me a lot through pictures at these times. I try to follow the way Jesus is leading me though I don’t always get it right. My early adult life was spent working in Mental health care. I have a degree in Psychology which remains an interest for me. I worked as a support worker in a community mental health team and as a psychological wellbeing practitioner helping people manage their depression and anxiety.

In 2013 I felt God called me to be a minister. After a period of discernment with my friends, family and church I began training at Spurgeon’s college in 2015. I graduated in 2018 and after a maternity period became minister at The church in Binley Woods just outside Coventry in 2019. I led them through lockdown and enjoyed much of my time there. However in 2022 it became clear that it was time for me and my family to move on. I felt that God was leading me to move to Leeds and to take some time off ministry to focus on my family needs so in early 2023 we moved there.

In Autumn 2023 I began seeking to return to some sort of ministerial work that would fit with my family’s needs. I have also been volunteering at a community cafe run by a local church and in various ways at Hannah’s school. Much of my time is devoted to my family. I have a calm and quiet husband named Andrew and a vibrant and passionate 4 year old daughter named Hannah. My mother in law in Suffolk also needs extra support from us these days so me and my husband each go down once a month and I speak to her on the phone most days. My own family are well.

My parents are enjoying their retirement in Devon while my sister works as a nurse in a hospice in Croydon. When I do get some free time I enjoy tapestry, reading, walking in nature, writing poetry, watching snooker and Doctor Who.

I also really enjoy a cup of tea and a chat.