Meet the team

James has been Vicar of Histon and Priest in Charge of St Andrew's Church, Impington since 2006. Prior to moving to Histon he was a vicar in Acton and Director of Ordinands in the Willesden Area of the Diocese of London. He is passionate about mission and building congregations that can communicate the gospel in ways that engage with the issues of contemporary society. A research engineer by background, James is interested in cabinet-making, astronomy, the life and work of Isaac Newton, the England cricket team and all things to do with Apple computers. He has been described by the Bishop of Worcester as 'renaissance man'. James is married to Katharine and they have 2 children.

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Ben is our curate in Histon and Impington. He is married to Emily and they have three children. Prior to moving to Impington, he was a History teacher and Housemaster in Cambridge. He first got excited about the gospel at Nottingham University and was ordained in 2024. He is passionate about sports mission and pastoral care and is Club Chaplain at Cambridge United Football Club. Ben likes to paint, drink coffee and play any sport with a ball, though not all at the same time.

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Tim Blake is the full-time Children’s Worker for St Andrew’s. Tim trained as a PE teacher in Cheltenham, where he graduated with a BEd in Physical Education and then taught in a primary school in Harlow. Moving to Battersea he served as a Children’s, Youth and Schools’ worker for a church near Clapham Junction. After six fulfilling years there, Tim returned to Histon, accompanied by his wife, Helen, and their sons. Aside from his family and work, his other passion is mountain biking, although Histon is not the ideal place for this! Tim’s website and blog can be found at standrewshiston.org/kids/

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Gemma joined us at St Andrew’s in 2024 with 6 years of youth work experience under her belt. She holds a degree in Theology, Mission and Ministry. Prior to studying for her degree, Gemma was an outdoor instructor for Rock UK and she still enjoys adventurous outdoor activities like rock climbing, canoeing and climbing mountains. On quieter days, Gemma can be found watching films with her nan or drinking coffee with friends. Gemma would be very happy to share coffee recommendations! She also plays the guitar and sings, and tries to play the piano.

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Rachel Carr is a Licensed Lay Minister at St Andrew's. She was formerly a primary school teacher, before becoming a mum to two girls. She lives in Impington with her children and husband, Eddy. Rachel passionately believes that we are all part of God's story. She enjoys pastoral work and helping with Open the Book assemblies and children’s work at St Andrew’s, Impington. Her hobbies include walking long distances and photographing God’s beautiful creation.

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Judith Adam was licensed as a Lay Minister to the Diocese of Ely (on Zoom) in November 2020. She moved to Histon with her husband George at the end of 2019, to be near to their son Joseph and family. Her Christian journey included church attendance as a child, and a commitment to follow Jesus wholeheartedly at the beginning of her university degree. She married George, a fellow student, and produced two children, Sarah and Joseph. They lived in Dry Drayton when their children were small and she taught herself guitar to enable singing at the playgroup there. When they moved to Knowle, Solihull, this led to much work with children under 8, both in schools as a volunteer, and in church groups, in UK, Malaysia and China, so she can also sing nursery rhymes in Malay! At 50, she learnt that she had inherited her family’s gene for deafness, which progresses fast, and in her case has also affected her balance. Combined, these disabilities prevent most work with children, so she decided to train as a Reader, and was licensed in the Birmingham Diocese in 2010. Her main focus has been on preaching and leading services, both in church and in care homes.

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Nigel and his wife Louise have been part of St Andrew’s, Histon since 1995, and their three daughters all grew up in the villages. Nigel was licensed as a lay minister in 2019, and sees his role as encouraging/enabling everyone—not just those who identify with church—to see the relevance of God to everyday life. Professionally he is a conservation architect and runs a practice, Archangel, from the village. Much of his work involves helping church communities adjust their buildings to their communal life, and improve their sustainability, all expressions of practical theology. He is also a trustee of the Cogwheel Trust, providing affordable counselling in Cambridgeshire.

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Fiona moved to Impington from Sussex in June 2022 and has worshipped in St Andrew’s Church, Impington ever since she arrived in the village. She is married to Simon and moved from Sussex to be near family in Trumpington and help with care of their young grandchildren. She has two Shetland sheepdogs, Troy and Abbie. Fiona was formerly a Licensed Lay Minister in a rural parish in Sussex, where she was responsible for funeral ministry during a year of parish vacancy. She was licensed in 2018 and has recently transferred her licence to the diocese of Ely. Her mission is to share the love of God through her ministry, focussing on care of older people and those who are bereaved.

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Jo is married to Jon and they moved to the village in 2002. They have four children who have attended the village schools. Jo is very active in the village, was involved on the Ladybirds Play & Toddler Group Committee for 10 years, and used to be regularly found on the turnstiles at Histon Football Club. In 2004 Jo started Mini Musicians, a music group for 0-3yrs with their carers, which she handed over after 12 successful years. Previously she has been a recorder teacher and a mid-day supervisor and she continues to do some maths tutoring. Before coming to the village Jo did a maths degree at the University of St. Andrews and then a PGCE at Homerton College and was an infant teacher at Milton Primary School. Jo comes from a church background, the daughter of a minister and was an active member of Emmanuel URC in Cambridge, before she started worshipping at St. Andrew’s, Histon in May 2012.

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Rachel is married to Rob, who she met while at school. They moved to Histon in 2009 with their two children, and have attended St Andrew's ever since. Rachel has been involved in village life in a number of ways including a stint as Treasurer for Stepping Stones, and she is still enjoying voluntary roles in SJClub at the church. Pre-children, Rachel worked in education and has a degree in sociology, economics and social policy from the University of Exeter. She also has a diploma in proof reading—a skill she puts to good use in her current role as office administrator. Rachel spends most spare moments (and some not so spare!) with her nose in a book, unless she's re-watching The West Wing. She's always grateful for a nice cup of tea.

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Sarah is married to Chris. They moved to Histon in 2012 and have one daughter. Sarah has been worshipping at St Andrew’s since moving to the village and has been involved with the church for many years, including helping with children’s work and regularly volunteering for SJ Club at the church. Sarah was previously a solicitor so has many transferable skills to bring to her current role as office administrator and PA. She loves going to the gym to relax (!) and spending time with her family and dog, Rudi.

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Liz has lived in Impington for over 30 years, and has attended St Andrew's Histon for nearly 20 years. She has 3 children, who have now grown up and left home. When she first switched from attending a Cambridge city centre church to attending St Andrew's, she was retraining to be a secondary maths teacher.  However, after 8 years Liz went back to technical writing and now spends a lot of time teaching other technical authors, which combines skills from her entire earlier career. Over the years at Histon, Liz has been on the PCC several times, and served as PCC secretary for a while. Before the Covid lockdowns, she was also actively involved in the Acorns group in SJ Club. During Covid Liz was in a bubble with her vulnerable mother, and when "in person" activities started, she wanted to continue to spend a lot of time with her, so works mostly from home, and attend our services via YouTube, to reduce the risks of picking up illnesses that she might pass on to her. As a result, many of the newer members of the congregation have not met Liz in person, but may have read my greetings during the peace during the online services.

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Louise has lived in the village for 20 years and has worshipped at St Andrew’s, Histon for 16 years. She is married to Steve and they have one son, Thomas, who has just completed his schooling at Impington International Sixth Form. Louise works as a Project Manager at the University of Cambridge. After being a member of the PCC on and off for many years, she has now taken on the role of churchwarden as we slowly emerge from a difficult period of uncertainty. We have all been changed to varying degrees by the pandemic and Louise's vision is to support James, the staff team and the church as we slowly emerge from the pandemic and seek to provide a place of safety, welcome and faith in Jesus.

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