The cycling, footie-mad vicar of St Paul’s Church, The Rev David Tomlinson, arrived in the Jewellery Quarter via Whitehall, Uganda and Essex and is looking to ‘raise the roof’ of the iconic building with a vital restoration campaign
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
In my twenties, I was a civil servant in Whitehall, a teacher in North London and in Uganda. Working in a remote village in this beautiful East African country was a formative experience and a stepping-stone to my ordination. As an ordained minister in the Church of England, I have worked in Surrey, Essex and now Birmingham. I am married to Jenny and we have two grown-up married daughters.
IT’S WHAT I DO
I am vicar of St Paul’s in the JQ and chair Thrive Together Birmingham, the Church of England community generation arm with a mission to tackle poverty and build community. My role as vicar is to connect the Christian community that worship and prays at St Paul’s with the businesses, residents and institutions of the JQ. I am also custodian of this historic and iconic church building, the jewel in the city’s crown. Urgently, we need to replace the roof before it fails and results in catastrophic water damage. The Raise the Roof campaign has been running for 14 months and has raised £170,000, bringing significant grant applications into play, but there is still some way to go to reach our total of £660,000.
WHAT I’D LIKE TO SEE
For St Paul’s, I want to see the church grow in numbers and in faith and to find new ways to serve the people of the JQ. Once the roof is replaced, my ambition is to modernise the interior while retaining its key heritage features, so that it can be an even better venue for concerts, the arts and a hub for community activities. On a personal note, I am working towards accreditation as a coach and the draft of my fourth book. You can find the other three on Amazon!
BIGGEST SUCCESS
I am most proud of my two daughters! In terms of work, I am motivated by shaping and leading churches that are loving and fruitful communities. When it comes to leisure, I have cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 15 days, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and trekked to Annapurna base camp in Nepal.
BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED
Mutual supportive relationships are what make life and work enjoyable. That means that when it comes to recruitment, qualities of character, collaboration and colleagueship would have more sway now than in the past.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT BRUM
Its rich diversity and down-to-earth friendliness, along with its art, music and heritage. The Edwardian Tea Rooms in the Museum and Art gallery in the city centre and Edgbaston Cricket are two of my favourite places outside of the Jewellery Quarter which is so vibrant. I am also aiming to get to all the football grounds on match days in the West Midlands – so far, I’ve been to the Hawthorns and Villa Park.
DOWNTIME
I am a keen West Ham fan and was at Villa Park for the recent FA cup tie to see them lose! I have enjoyed playing football and cricket in my younger days but now focus on cycling. This year, I am cycling from Minster on Sea on the Thames Estuary to Weston-super-Mare in June. Besides pedalling, I like cooking, reading, walking in the countryside, going to the theatre and watching drama on TV. I am coming to the end of the seven seasons of The West Wing, the American political drama for the second time.