Rachel Montgomery Appointed as New Archdeacon of Northolt

12/12/05

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, has appointed the Revd Rachel Montgomery, Vicar of St James the Less, Bethnal Green, as the next Archdeacon of Northolt. She will be the first woman archdeacon in the London Diocese. Rachel will take up the post in May 2006. By then she will be known as the Ven Rachel Treweek, following her marriage in March to Guy Treweek, who is himself training for the priesthood.

Rachel Montgomery (42) has been Vicar of St James the Less for almost seven years. Before that she served at St George’s, Tufnell Park. As Archdeacon of Northolt, she succeeds the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, now Bishop of Woolwich.

Rachel hails from Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and originally trained as a Speech and Language therapist, becoming manager of a team across three London health authorities. A lifelong churchgoer, she became aware of a calling to the priesthood while at All Souls Clubhouse in London. She has a certificate in Couples and Family Therapy and remains fascinated by the way people connect with one another and to God.

Rachel has strong links with South Africa, having served a placement there just before the first elections. She has also been involved in the work of ALMA, the link between the Diocese of London and dioceses in Portuguese-speaking Africa. In this connection she has visited Mozambique.

The role of all the Archdeacons in the Diocese of London has been revised to give each one a particular responsibility extending across the whole Diocese. Archdeacon Treweek will carry the brief for overseas links and relations with other faith communities in London.

The pastoral dimension of her work will focus on the Willesden Area which covers the boroughs of Brent, Harrow, Ealing and Hillingdon.

Commenting on her appointment, Rachel said, “I am looking forward to working in partnership with the parishes of Willesden to live out our commitment to being Christ’s good news for the people of North West London.”

One of the core priorities for the ministry of the Church in this area of London is the development of lay ministry and Rachel, who has great experience of this work in Bethnal Green, will play a crucial role in achieving this vision.

Following her appointment, Rachel will work closely with the Rt Revd Peter Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden. He says, “The Archdeacon’s role includes responsibility for interfaith relationships and for London as a place where people from all cultures and backgrounds have made their home. I’m really looking forward to working with Rachel and I know she will make a huge contribution to the London team.”