About Us
About us
The two parishes of North Mundham and Hunston work closely together as a united benefice. They form part of a strong community south of Chichester, in the villages of North Mundham, South Mundham, Hunston, Runcton and Merston.
Our team
Rev May Barker
Katrine Walker
Kat joined the team in April 2017 during her Reader training and was licenced in September 2017. She retired after working in the NHS for over 30 years, initially as an Occupational Therapist working in mental health and then for the last ten years as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in primary care. Her leisure activities include gardening, walking and appreciating local countryside, coast and wildlife.
Anne Holderness
Anne serves the parish in her role of Deacon.
Alistair Ghinn
Alistair started working as a self-employed Youth Mission Worker in 2015, offering service and support to local churches. He aims to help young people grow in their inner confidence of who they are and encourage them to discover their life’s purpose and to create a safe environment for young people to have fun as well as learn some good life skills.
Robert Leeder
Robert has lived in the parish all his life and is a Horticultural Engineer working for a local Glasshouse lettuce and basil producer. He has been a member of the church family since childhood, he joined the PCC in 2013 and has been a churchwarden at St Stephen’s Church since 2017.
Lynn Mears
Barry Hutchinson
Joan Duberley
Our Mission Action Plan
The United Benefice of North Mundham with Merston and Hunston
Our vision:
- To bring hope, friendship and welcome by sharing the love of Jesus.
- We are a church that is committed to worshipping God in a way that is accessible and relevant to the people we serve, and to encourage a personal commitment of faith and continued growth in discipleship for all.
- We are a church with people who are generous in the giving of their time, talents and money and who express God’s love in love and service to others.
Our Mission Action Plan is formed around the Diocesan strategy.
MORE OPEN – we will revisit what we offer regarding services, days, times and worship style. We will:
- re-establish Messy Church, an All Souls service and an annual pet service. (All now established).
- hold a mid-week communion. (Now established).
MORE CONVERTED TO JESUS CHRIST – focusing on spiritual growth. We will:
- offer a range of short courses, Lent, Confirmation and Alpha.
- complete an audit of gifts and skills across the benefice and to identify vocations.
MORE GENEROUS – focus on how we can be more generous. We plan to:
- increase online giving across the benefice and to review our charitable giving.
- work towards the Eco Church bronze award.
MORE ENGAGED – building on our community engagement. We will:
- continue to work with North Mundham Primary school. (Ongoing).
- establish a community café at North Mundham. (Now established).
Mission
We take mission seriously at St. Stephen’s and St Leodegar’s Churches. Together, we support the following
HEART
Homeless Empowerment & Relational Transformation Chichester Churches Heart for Homelessness
HEART is a partnership of local churches in Chichester, who want to play a part in helping some of the most vulnerable people in Chichester.
Emmanuel International UK
Emmanuel International partners with churches in serving their communities, an ethos that our united benefice agrees with. In 2015 our churches sent a short term mission team to Ibumu in Tanzania with Emmanuel International. The team helped to build classrooms at the secondary school and offered kids clubs in the afternoons.
The Children's Society
They are a national charity working to transform the hopes and happiness of young people facing abuse, exploitation, and neglect. They support them through their most serious life challenges, and they campaign tirelessly for the big social changes that will improve the lives of those who need hope most. We have been doing this for 140 years and we will not stop until we have built a society where hope is alive in every child. As a church we forward our donations from the Christingle Service we hold in December.
Samaritans Purse
Samaritan’s Purse UK is an international relief and development organisation that works through local churches to proclaim and demonstrate the love of God amongst communities in need (in countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia) across the world. At St Stephen`s every Christmas we fill shoe boxes for children living in one of the communities above. This is what one child said about receiving a shoe box.
Alex – A small candy cane brought a big smile to my face when I received a shoebox gift in an orphanage following the Rwandan genocide.
The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion (RBL), sometimes called the British Legion, is a British charity offering financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants.
Unfortunately, our local Mundham & District Branch closed in 2022 and the standards are now laid up in memory corner of the Church. The village poppy lunch does continue to support the annual appeal. As a church we work with an RBL member regarding Remembrance Sunday Services.