Thornbury Parish

Chris Verey - Associate Priest

My journey to ministry began in my late teens and I read Theology at Durham in the 1960s.  But my journey diverted and I spent four years post-graduate study into early Latin Gospel Books, including a year in Rome and in the Vatican Library.  

There followed a move to Government service for almost 30 years, mostly in and around Whitehall, to a rich variety of posts, from nuclear arms control to establishing the future of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich and of the Royal Yacht Britannia.  It also enabled me to travel to the far corners of the world.  In parallel, as time allowed, I continued working on the early manuscripts

Divorce in the late 90s brought me to a fresh beginning in Bristol and a move to Thornbury.  More importantly it brought me back to church, and to meeting and marrying Val in December 1999.  The sense of calling came back with a vengeance and much as I wanted to dismiss it, I left it to the church to determine the outcome.  

The Ministry of Defence was glad to let me go at 55 and this enabled me to train full-time at Cuddesdon, near Oxford, for two years.  I was ordained in the Diocese of Bristol, and served in Yate.  As now “retired” I am given permission by the Bishop to officiate, and have welcomed the opportunity to serve in Thornbury (to where Val and I have recently returned).

Val and I have four children and six grandchildren between us (ranging from 18 down to 4).  Our interests are many and varied and include a shared love of art and music – and I continue to take an interest in the history of the early church in Britain.