New Norwich Methodist Superintendent Minister
The Norwich Methodist Circuit has welcomed a new Superintendent Minister - Rev Tom Osborne has moved to Norwich from Manningtree in Essex, where for 8 years he served as Superintendent of the Tendring Circuit.
Prior to that Tom served as a minister in Cornwall, after a previous career in FE and HE management and training for ordained ministry at Wesley House in Cambridge. His training saw him spend time in the Fens Circuit, as well as in South Africa and with the Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service.
“We’re delighted to be moving to Norfolk,” said Tom. “Knowing that we would be on the move this year, East Anglia was attractive for a number of reasons: it is an area I know from having trained at Cambridge, and which we have holidayed across in recent years; its mix of ancient cities, market towns and vast rural areas are comfortable environments from my growing up in Shropshire and Somerset; and it keeps us close to our daughter and young grandson who live in Ipswich.”
Moving to Norwich over the summer and working with its various churches was also appealing.
“While Methodist ministers don’t simply pick an appointment, but are matched through a prayerful process, I was clear that Norwich appealed. Getting to undertake ministry in a Circuit committed to supporting mission and outreach, that has spent time thinking and praying about how discipleship and evangelism can be resourced, that operates cross-culturally [one of Tom’s churches is Bowthorpe Road Methodist Church, a principally Chinese-language church], and offers a range of styles in terms of worship, theology and community engagement, really stood out to me. Alongside this was the opportunity to work with a substantial and experienced team of colleagues, lay and ordained, and to continue engaging ecumenically.”
As well as his professional and Circuit ministry experience, Tom also brings to Norwich a wealth of wider connections. Having previously in a number of other roles alongside his day-to-day ministry, currently he serves as Chair of the Connexional Nominations Committee and the Methodist Representative to the URC’s General Assembly - a role that in part grew out of his experience as a District Ecumenical Officer and working as a minister in a Methodist-URC church.
“I’m very much looking forward to living out both my ecumenical and my Connexional call here in Norwich,” Tom says. “As a Methodist I firmly believe in a ministry of all people which is interconnected with others – whether that’s the congregations we worship with, the communities we live amongst, the other churches we share in mission with, or the wider denominations we are part of that offer resourcing for our work on the ground. While ministering here in Norwich, I’m keen to ensure that we don’t just look inward, but outward too – working with ecumenical colleagues and sharing the work we do here with others around the Methodist Connexion.
Read about Tom’s interests in music, geekery and how the church interacts and overlaps with aspects of modern culture.
Pictured above is Rev Tom Osborne.