As Baptists we believe and practice the principle that ultimate authority for discerning God’s will for the church lies with the church membership. We gather four times a year at church meetings to talk, pray and discern what God is saying to us as a community.
The church meeting is also responsible for appointing individuals to oversee certain aspects of church life. We have called a minister and also have an elected leadership team
Graeme Ross:
Graeme is a Baptist Minister who is especially interested in making church accessible and understandable to people who have no church background. He believes that church life should equip christians to live out their faith in their everyday lives.
He is married to Tracey who he describes as incredibly patient and he is a Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter and so needs lots of prayer!
You can find out more about Graeme and what goes on his his mind by reading his blog https://honestaboutmyfaith.wordpress.com/
Eleanor Shergold: Eleanor is the glue that holds so many aspects of church life together. Along with managing the day-to-day admin of Bethesda, Eleanor also plays a significant role in the pastoral care of the church family. Eleanor works with the youth, leads the Kintsugi Hope group, is always happy to be invited for coffee, can lead, preach and given enough encouragement perform a solo on the kazoo.
Eleanor emigrated from overseas (Orkney) in the 1990s and made her home here in Wiltshire. She is married to the amazing Darren and they have 2 wonderful children.
Alan Powning: There is little left to be said about Alan Powning. He has been part of the Bethesda fabric for over 50 years, on the leadership for most of that time and treasurer for more than 30 years. Alan preaches, leads a housegroup, turns up to every meeting and above all is a joy to know.
Alan brings a sense of hopeful pragmatism to the role of treasurer, knowing that investing in people and in mission will bring a fruitful harvest that sees the Kingdom come more fully. Alan is married to the equally wonderful and faithful Dorothy and have 2 grown up children and 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
Dave Rose: Dave has been on the leadership team at Bethesda for over 30 years, which considering he has been at Bethesda for only 31 years shows what an amazing and trustworthy man he is. Faithful, steady, generous and encouraging – Dave is far more at ease behind than scenes than up front. Dave leads Bethesda’s role in the soup run, is on the pastoral care team and has the best informal taxi service in Trowbridge – though he is quite happy to hand this business on to others! Dave is truly one of those servant leaders every church needs.
Dave is married to the lovely Jacqui and they have 2 children and 4 grandchildren and a Markland.
Debbie Youngs: Debbie has been a member of the leadership team for three years. Her gifts have been recognised by others for years – helping Debbie to realise them has been the challenge. Humble but direct, generous but wise, Debbie brings a level of decisiveness and challenge to the team that helps us stay very much on course.
Debbie heads up the hospitality at Bethesda, from Sunday morning refreshments to whole church meals. This is an essential part of Bethesda life which helps us reflect the welcoming love of God we all know. Debbie is as unflappable as she is generous. Alongside this Debbie balances her church responsibilities with working full time and looking after her mum at weekends.
Nigel Harris: Nigel joined the team during Covid, having served several years previously. With an eye for detail and a brilliant habit of asking the awkward and challenging question, Nigel brings a whole different dynamic to the leadership team. His passion for reaching out to the community and embracing technology helps push us to ask those questions and seek God for answers. Nigel is also brilliantly practical and helps drive much of the conversation around fabric and maintenance.
Nigel also works closely with our links in Uganda and has visited many times – helping us to follow up our giving with prayer so that these links encourage us as much as our giving encourages our brothers and sisters in Uganda.
Gareth Hopkins: Gareth started coming to Bethesda in late 2009. He is married to the awesome Karen and together they have had several adventures such as climbing to Mt Everest base camp. Karen has been attending Bethesda since she was a child. Gareth joined the leadership team during Covid 2020 covering health and safety for the church. He has been an integral part of Bethesda for many years working with the soup run, the shoe box appeal, and more recently teaching the Youth. His work life balance role as a Project Manager allows him to bring that experience to his role on the leadership team. Being a Leicester City fan Gareth brings a level of optimism and encouragement to the role which impacts on us all. He continues to take on all thing’s health and safety as well as some fabric responsibility
Lynette Hodges: Lynette has recently been co-opted to the team to increase capacity during our vacancy. She has also joined the pastoral care team.
Lynette has been part of the church family for 32 years supporting everything from the soup run to our children's work. Her medical background and caring experience have proved invaluable at the church. Her calm, reassuring presence is much appreciated along with her ability to just quietly get on with things.