St Giles, Aintree

in the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool

Our Priest - Father John Williams
Although not originally from Liverpool, St Giles is the third church Father John has been involved with in Merseyside. He first came to Liverpool to work as parish assistant in the Church of the Holy Spirit, Dovecot before spending two years as assistant priest at Our Lady and St Nicholas aka Liverpool Parish Church or St Nic's. Now he's the vicar of Aintree.

He began life in Wigan, where the majority of his family still are, and it was at St James' Church Poolstock, that he first began to worship regularly and experienced the life of the Church. This was a special time for him as he was nurtured and cared for by members of that congregation and he remains grateful for that to this day.

He went to university in the North East and it was there that he began to question whether God might want him to be a priest in his Church. He studied theology and really enjoyed it and combined this with saying morning prayer in the college chapel and evening prayer in the cathedral.  He then trained for priesthood at the College of the Resurrection in West Yorkshire which was challenging and demanding, but full of joys and growth.

At the end of two years he was ordained in Durham cathedral, and went on to serve as curate for three years in a rural parish with five churches in County Durham called the Upper Skerne.  He worked with two priests there from whom he learnt a great deal about parish ministry and life.

He is a natural extrovert and enjoys spending time with people both at work and in his spare time. Cooking, though not cleaning, is a passion, and so having people round to share food is important to him. He has two cats whom he spoils and he enjoys going into the city centre and meeting up with friends, reading, and visiting places of historic interest, cycling and walking. Moving from a flat in the city centre into a house with a rather large garden he is also beginning to experiment with gardening - both growing flowers and his own food.

Our Guest Priest - Mother Rowena Pailing
Married with two children, Mother Rowena move to Liverpool when her husband, Fr Crispin, took up the role of Rector of Liverpool in 2014.

She is Director of Pastoral Studies at The College of the Resurrection, Mirfield but her commitment to keeping a hand in parish life saw her visits many churches in Liverpool after the family moved to Liverpool in an attempt to find one where she felt at home and where she felt she could contribute.

Obviously we did something right on the day she and the family visited St Giles as she asked if she could join us.  We were only too pleased to have Mother Rowena on board and she has become a popular member of our clergy since, sharing duties with Fr John, and covering for him, when she is on holiday from the college.

Churchwarden - Tony Cobain
Tony has lived in Aintree for over 40 years but only came to St Giles about six years ago - he came to get his daughter baptised and never left - and has been a churchwarden for two years.

He has worked in the NHS for most of his career in the area of IT security and audit.  He has also been on the Board of the City of Liverpool College which he still supports as a member of their Audit Committee.

He's married with a young daughter who runs him ragged!

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."