creation care,gospel,justice,young people,youth,youth groups

Election address of:
Dr Richard Roope
Beechwood, 5 The Spinney, Compton, Winchester, SO21 2BE
07969 311408
Nominator 1: Charles Bazlinton: [email protected]
Nominator 2: Keith Whale: [email protected]

I have been a communicant member of Christ Church in Winchester since 2007, after
moving to Compton, a small village 3 miles south of Winchester. I have been a lay
member of Diocesan Synod since 2021 and have been one of the lay members of the
Winchester Bishop’s Council since 2024. I have an interest in Creation Care completing
the BCM in Creation Care in 2022.
I am married to Sara Jane, who is a Licensed Lay Minister in the Winchester Deanery,
and we have 3 grown up daughters, and 2 young grandsons. Our oldest daughter is
married to the Vicar of St Mary’s, Attenborough, Nottingham. Our other two daughters
are regular church goers in London and Bristol.
I have been a GP for 35 years, with a special interest in oncology. After 30 years as a GP
partner in Whiteley and Locks Heath (near Fareham), I retired from my practice to
concentrate on regional and national cancer clinical and leadership roles. In addition, I
have been an Occupational Health Physician for 30 years, working across many work
sectors, including, latterly, the faith and charity sectors. This role is one of maximising
the working health of those with health challenges.
At Christ Church in Winchester, I share the leadership of a home group and am on the
AV and Welcoming Teams. I am a member of the Creation Care Team and from time to
time, I help with the cooking for the mid-week youth groups.
In addition to work and church commitments, I like to spend time with our family,
singing (currently with the Waynflete Singers), gardening, cycling and travelling.
If elected to the General Synod House of Laity, I would champion
• Promoting the core Gospel message of the love, light and hope Jesus can bring to
a nation which is getting darker with hope fading – particularly reaching out to
young people and young families.
• The health and well-being of clergy, their families and their paid and unpaid
colleagues. We will only be able to be effective in sharing Jesus’ Gospel
message of hope and love to our nation and world if we have healthy clergy
supported by healthy colleagues.

• the hugely important areas of creation care and creation justice, issues we are
only too aware of having come through one of the hottest summers on record,
and with the spectre of the strongest El Niño gathering intensity.