PARISHIONERS of Whitchurch will see a new face around St Andrew's Church as the village has recently welcomed a new minister.

Newly appointed priest-in-charge Sean Brassill, 54, came to Whitchurch from Surrey, having never been leader of a church before.

Sean spent 22 years as a senior manager for a multi-national IT company before being ordained ten years ago. He spent five years at his previous church at Addlestone in Surrey.

Sean said: 'I reached a point where I should have responsibility for a church, so I started applying to churches all over the southern half of the country. I heard of this job through recommendation — it wasn't originally what I was looking for but it felt right. I believe there was a spiritual input, and felt it was something God wanted me to do, as things went very smoothly.'

As well as being minister at Whitchurch, Sean is also responsible for Peter Tavy and Mary Tavy. He said he felt completely settled in already: 'I put on my Facebook profile "I feel like I've been here for years".

'For all the visits and interviews, I came here in the dark so I didn't realise how beautiful it was. The people are very welcoming, it's a lovely part of the world.

'I can bring who I am to Whitchurch — I'm a people person and enjoy being around others, also from 22 years as a manager I can bring leadership skills.'

Sean said he would like to see St Andrew's appeal more to younger people and families: 'We value the people who come to the church already but part of my vision is to build the church up to attract young adults, teens and families. We need to turn people's ideas around to get excited about going to church.'

Mrs Catherine Stoate, churchwarden at St Andrew's, said: 'We're delighted to welcome Sean to the parish and we're looking forward to his leadership and vision.'