General Synod Election Candidates 2026

The Rev'd Christine Beecroft, BA (Hons) MA
The Vicarage, 140 Church Rd, Addlestone, KT15 1SJ | born 1962 [email protected]
Hi I’m Chris and I’ve been in Guildford Diocese for 17 years, serving at St. Paul’s
Addlestone with my husband Revd Canon Ben Beecoft, where we are Joint
Vicars. It’s been exciting to see how St. Pauls has become increasingly culturally
diverse over the years, and we now have over 20 different nationalities
represented in our church. Our International Evenings where everyone brings
and shares food from different national cuisines is always a joy!
I’ve been ordained for 27 years, I trained at Trinity College, Bristol, and I
previously worked as an NHS Registered General Nurse.
Current and Past Posts
1998–2000
Full-time Assistant Curate, St Paul's, South Harrow.
2000–2004
Part-time Assistant Curate, St Helen's, Stapleford.
2004–2007
Associate Priest, St Michael the Archangel, Warfield.
2006–2007
Congregational Leader, All Saints Church
2007–2024
Part-time Associate Vicar, St Paul's, Addlestone.
2024–present
Additional Diocesan
Roles
Joint Vicar, St Paul's, Addlestone
2018–present
Member, Bishop's Deliverance Advisory Team.
2019–present
Diocesan Synod.
2025–present
IME Tutor.

Key Facts
• Joint Vicar with my husband Ben at St Paul's Church, Addlestone; married with three grown-up
daughters.
• Served in 4 dioceses: London, Southwell & Nottingham, and Oxford Dioceses before Guildford.
• Former NHS Registered General Nurse (Experience working in hospitals, a hospice, and as a Sister at
a GP surgery).
Ministry & Mission
I am a committed Anglican, and I enjoy being a Parish Priest serving withing the Church of England. I
have a wide range of experience ministering in parishes across four different dioceses. I am passionate
about seeing people come to faith and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. I’ve also known the
blessings and challenges of juggling both motherhood and ministry over the years!
At St. Pauls I am the Alpha Course co-ordinator, the chair of the Mission and Evangelism platform of
the PCC and chair of Mission Partners group. Additionally, I also oversee our pastoral assistants.
Serving the Community
• Runnymede Borough Council Community Cohesion Task Force — secured wider community access
to a new estate's community building.
• Runnymede Homelessness Task Force — helped bring council-funded sleep pods to Addlestone.
• 'Loaves and Fishes' holiday lunches for children — 2,482 lunches given out this summer; I serve on
the distribution team.

• Parish 'Winter Warmers' — hot chocolate and breakfast snacks for local schoolchildren.
• Leadership team, Hebrews coffee shop.
Areas of Interest
• Medical ethics and the sanctity of human life — published article and letters, including on assisted
dying, and MP correspondence.
• Modern-day slavery — visited safe houses for trafficking survivors in Asia & UK; lobbied MP on sex
trafficking.
• The interface of psychology and theology (my MA thesis looked at the parallels and contrasts
between 20th century secular psychology and the major strands of pastoral care.).
• Human flourishing – I hold to a traditional understanding of marriage, whilst my extensive
experience both as a nurse and a priest lead me to strive to be gracious and generous to all those I
serve.
• The value of the Parish system — I support redistributing funds back to Parishes, especially our
most deprived.
Things I enjoy/ Hobbies
I enjoy travelling and walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage from Portugal to Spain. In recent
years I have visited a variety of countries including India, USA and a mission partner we support in
Zimbabwe
I enjoy spending time with family and friends, and walking, including with our two dogs
Some other experience/ things I’m involved in:
I’m enjoying my role as an IME tutor and sharing in the joy of their development and recent
ordinations to the priesthood. I have been a Seminar Speaker at New Wine summer conference on
transitioning church; and at leadership conference on growing churches and in giving leadership
support to vicars who were struggling in their parishes.
Pre-ordination, I was part of the original planting team from Emmanuel Northwood which planted a
new church in an estate school.
Priorities for General Synod
This is my first time standing for General Synod. If elected I would especially like to promote:
• Encouraging greater intercultural diversity in the Church.
• Mission and Evangelism — sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with all.
• Promoting clergy wellbeing.
Why General Synod?
I am standing for election to General Synod because I want to help grow a Church that is richer in
intercultural diversity, more confident in mission, and attentive to the wellbeing of the clergy who
serve it. A Church that better reflects the growing diversity within our nation will be a stronger and
more credible witness to the gospel. I have also seen, in Parish ministry, both the opportunities for
fresh mission and outreach within our communities, and the real cost that ordained ministry can place
on clergy — a cost the Church must take seriously. If elected, I would bring these priorities —
intercultural diversity, mission, and clergy wellbeing — together with prayerfulness, practical
experience, and a commitment to listening to clergy and laity across our diocese.
Proposer: The Rev'd David H Uffindell
Seconder: The Rev'd Kirsten Rosslyn-Smith
email:[email protected] Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss my application further.

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