Rector reflects on 45 years of ministry as he retires from Derbyshire church

Father Mark Crowther-Alwyn who has served St Giles church, on Matlock Green, and the sister parish of Dethick, Lea and Holloway since 2003, will start the next chapter of his life on February 1 after more than 45 years of frontline ministry.

As he hands over the keys to the rectory, he will be thanking colleagues and parishioners and packing up cherished memories for the short trip to his new home in Chesterfield.

He said: “I’d like to say thank you to all the people who have been so kind and supportive to me over the years, especially those who have worked closely with me in the church. What a joy it has been to live and work here. I will miss a lot of people. I’ll be keeping in contact but will miss talking to them almost daily.

“I hope I might be remembered as a close friend. That’s what I always aimed to be, and the way I thought of so many people here. I didn’t necessarily have the answers all the time, but I wanted to be someone people could approach and who would journey alongside them in life as a friend.”

Fr Mark, 69, began his own journey in Ipswich. His father worked there as a priest and, despite an untimely death, left his youngest child of five with an indelible appreciation for the beauty of worship and the presence of God.

Having considered alternative paths, Fr Mark eventually decided to follow in the family profession after studying for a degree in theology, but was determined to do it his own way.

He said: “I do remember feeling strongly that I didn’t want to be seen to be following in my father’s footsteps.”

Graduating from an ecumenical college, which combined many different Christian traditions, Fr Mark worked in Namibia before being ordained in Buckinghamshire.

Later posts took him to Brighton, Glasgow, Lincolnshire – where he survived a heart attack at the age of 33 – and Bolsover, just as the parish was hit by the closure of Creswell colliery, before he arrived in Matlock and found a place where he could put down roots for the first time since childhood.

He said: “It’s hard to remember now, but my first impressions were of a very beautiful place. I used to cycle everywhere but soon realised that was very difficult here with all the hills.

“Moving to a new parish is difficult in other ways too. Everyone knows you but you don’t know anyone. I always found the people here very friendly though. It’s still semi-rural, and people expect to talk when they see you out and about. That’s a nice feature of it.

“Matlock has changed of course. It’s a shame so many of the more local shops have closed, but I think we’ve done better than some communities.”

All the ups and downs of the last two decades have only underlined the importance of the church for Fr Mark.

He said: “The role has changed in some senses. Society has become more secular and less church-centred, but I feel that people do still like the presence of a vicar, rector or priest in the community.

“You might do a wedding, baptism and funeral all for the same family. Getting to know them and build close relationships over the years can be very rewarding. You are under a certain amount of stress too. You’re with people at really crucial moments in their lives and, if you’re conscientious, it is difficult to get things right the way they want.

“The church is still very, very important even for those who don’t see churchgoing as their thing. It’s amazing how many people will pop in to say a prayer, when they might never come to a service. There is so much noise in the world, and they’re just looking for stillness and silence.”

He added: “I’ve very much enjoyed caring for this ancient building, probably the most beautiful in Matlock, and it’s given me chance to meet visitors from all over the world.”

“I’ve tried to concentrate on parish work and not get involved in the wider church. I certainly feel the local community wants the clergy to be there. I don’t know if the Church of England, on the whole, understands how important that is.”

Fr Mark hopes to continue working in some capacity at the Church of St Mary and All Saints in Chesterfield – aka ‘the crooked spire’ – where he will worship in future.

Retirement means more freedom to see his family and enjoy pursuits such as gardening, but perhaps the thing he is most looking forward to is more time to read spiritual texts.

He said: “One is always searching for things to be made clearer in your mind, and for a closer relationship with God. Those questions remain even after all these years. The more you learn, the more you realise there is still to learn.

“With regards to ethics and morality, the old sense of things being clearly laid out has disappeared. People have to work out their own solutions and need help.

“I like to think of the TS Eliot quote: ‘We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.’”

Fr Mark’s final service at St Giles will begin at 10am on Sunday, January 29, to be followed by a buffet lunch in church.

Until a decision on his replacement is made, most duties will be covered by All Saints Rector Richard Reade and Stephen Monk, of St Helen's Darley Dale.

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