Revd G Songer

Hello!  My name is Gill Songer and I am a Presbyter serving the churches in Charing, St Andrews in Folkestone, and the Valley Churches of Elham, Lyminge and Rhodes Minnis.  I have been a Methodist all my life, brought up in a large East End family which included my four siblings, my parents, Granny, Great Auntie and various cats, rabbits and guinea-pigs.  As mum was Guide Captain our lives were very influenced by the Guiding movement and I went on to be a warranted leader with both the Guide and Scout movements for over 20 years.

Before moving to Folkestone my husband, David, and I lived in Maldon, Essex where we brought our three sons up.  The boys are now all independent and working in various branches of engineering.  We currently live with Zoe, a rescue dog from Spain.

I enjoy craft work and reading and being out-of-doors and I am so glad to be living near to the sea!  I love gardening, but be warned, my gardening is all about inviting the wildlife into my space so do not be surprised if you are greeted by a field of meadow-grass in the front garden if you come to call.

I studied at the Queens Foundation in Birmingham, which offers a transformative theological education for disciples, ministers, and scholars.  Here I was able to listen to top-class lecturers speak about Black Theology, Womanist Theology, and Queer Theology which caused me to think about my own unconscious bias to people who live on the margins of society.   Jesus came into the world to reach out to the ignored, the marginalised, the hurt and the hungry.  This is where God is active now and where the Church should be seeking to join God in that work.