New rector appointed for the Benefice of Tadley with Pamber Heath and Silchester
A Tadley vicar has been instituted as the new rector for Tadley with Pamber Heath and Silchester.
The Rev Steve McKay of St Mary’s Church was inducted as the new parish church leader during a service at St Paul’s Church in Tadley on Monday, June 26, by the bishop of Basingstoke David Williams.
Mr McKay, who is also the chaplain to the Basingstoke and Deane mayor, was ordained as a priest at Winchester Cathedral in 2021.
He replaces the previous rector Richard Harlow, who is now the archdeacon of Huntingdon and Wisbech.
Mr McKay has lived in Tadley for 17 years, and he has led worship in all five churches around Tadley, Pamber Heath and Silchester as a musician, ordinand, curate and rector designate during that time.
He said: “I am passionate about equipping others to live their call and passionate about the way we demonstrate love in our community.
“I believe just as Jesus put on flesh and moved into the neighbourhood, we are his visible presence in our communities.”
Before ordination, he spent more than 20 years as a school leader specialising in post-16 education, working with students from a diverse range of backgrounds in one of the UK’s largest schools.
In his new role, Rev McKay will be joined by two new members of the Benefice of Tadley with Pamber Heath and Silchester team.
At the same service on June 26, the Rev Karen West was licensed as an associate minister.
She was ordained as a deacon in 2021 and priest in 2022, alongside Mr McKay, and she has moved to Tadley from the Benefice of Sherfield on Loddon and Stratfield Saye, with Hartley Wespall with Stratfield Turgis and Bramley.
The Rev West is a trustee and board member of Church Army, a member of the chaplaincy team at St Michael’s Hospice in Basingstoke and has experience as a leadership coach and trainer in the civil service.
She is looking forward to moving into the vicarage in Silchester and becoming a member of the village community, along with her mother Margaret and her three-year-old cocker spaniel Monty.
The Rev Chris Knight was ordained as deacon at Winchester Cathedral on Sunday, July 2, and he is excited to begin work in Tadley.
He grew up in South London before going to Loughborough University to study mechanical engineering.
After graduating, he worked at Rolls-Royce in Derby for eight years.
In 2020 he moved with his family to Ripon College, Cuddesdon, where he has been studying and gaining experience in the first stages of ministerial formation.
