I'm Rev'd Rich Townend and am thrilled to be the new Priest in Charge of Felton and
Longframlington with Brinkburn, Whittingham with Edlingham and Bolton Chapel. I'm
married to Emma, and we have three children Belle (14), Jasmine (12) and Zoey (2).
We've spent most of our married life living in villages to the south of York, before
spending our most recent years in Durham and Bridlington. A bit more about me...
I was born and brought up in York and studied Drama in Winchester before doing a
Postgraduate course in Broadcast Journalism at Sheffield. After a short stint with the
BBC, I took a change in direction and got into children's and youth work at a church in
urban Middlesbrough. Following this, I took up a role with national Christian youth
charity, Urban Saints, as their North-East director. After several years, I took my
second major change in direction and became a primary school teacher. I worked for
six happy years in Barlby, a village near Selby in North Yorkshire, whilst also doing
the children's provision at our local church in my spare time. After a chance meeting
with the former Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, I embarked on career change
number three, which I hope and pray will be my final one!
The family and I moved to Cranmer Hall, Durham for me to train for ordination. After
two years, and in the middle of lockdown, we moved to Bridlington on the Yorkshire
coast where I served my curacy at Emmanuel Church with Barmston. I've enjoyed
almost three fantastic years in Bridlington, being part of a community-focused, growing
church. I couldn't have asked for a better training experience and am excited for the
next chapter. As a family, Emma, Belle, Jasmine, Zoey moved to the Vicarage in
Felton at the beginning of March, together with our elderly sausage dog, Taffy. We
look forward to exploring Northumberland, making new friends, and inviting our family
and existing friends to discover this wonderful part of the world for themselves.
I look forward to getting to know you more and sharing more of our story in the coming
months and years.
In faith, hope and love, Rev Rich