Kerry was Ordained in 1978 after careers in the Horse Racing world and as a Funeral Director and Embalmer. His first Parish experience was three years as Curate at Upton, St. Mary, a large church on the Wirral, Merseyside. From there he moved to the Durham Diocese in the north-east of England. Three years on the staff at Chester-le-Street Parish Church, saw him take responsibility for a Church Plant, which met in the Hermitage Comprehensive School. The story of that Parish and its six Plants is told by Kerry in his contributory Chapter to the book “10 Growing Churches” published by MARC 1984.

From 1982 to 1984 Kerry was seconded to the Mission:England project. This involved him working across Denominations throughout the north-east in preparation for the visit of Billy Graham to Sunderland.

For the next twenty years, in addition to his Parish Church roles, Kerry continued to work as an Associate for Bible Society, first teaching Church Growth Seminars across the north of England and then as a Consultant, helping individual churches as well as Deaneries, Circuits and Churches Together, to review progress and plan for mission.

Kerry’s first job as a Vicar was in the Parish of St. George’s Fatfield, in Washington, Tyne and Wear. During that nine years, a new Congregation was planted at the Arts Centre. Major re-ordering work was carried out at the Parish Church, with two floors of meeting rooms being created in what had previously been roof space. The Church was carpeted, pews replaced and the internal lay-out of the church changed from east-west to north-south. The Celebrations at the completion of that project made national news headlines, including the (almost) famous “Pew! What a scorcher!”, and a (radio) interview with Michael Parkinson. The reports suggested that the introduction of pink carpets to the church had resulted in growth from thirty to three hundred people. Not exactly accurate, but there was a grain of truth in there somewhere!

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