Introducing Kat...
Kat Mepham will be our Curate (together with St Thomas’) from when she is ordained deacon on 2nd July.
I am married to Ali, who is the Vicar at St Thomas’, Fair Oak, and we have five amazing children: Molly, 16, who is just finishing her GCSE’s; Tom, 13, who loves his X box and performing in the youth theatre at The Point; Nat, 10, who loves being outside and all things environmental; Jem, 9, who plays the ukulele and loves pizza; and Eliza who enjoys dancing and My Little Ponies.
We moved to Fair Oak about 16 months ago and the time has really flown! For my curacy I will be part time in each parish – Bishopstoke and Fair Oak & Horton Heath. I am really looking forward to meeting a new community and really excited about sharing in the ministry of St Mary's and St Paul's.
So after 10 years of being a vicar’s wife why did I decide to go forward for Ordination training? Well it didn't really feel like my idea! Becoming a vicar has been a niggle in my head since I was about 18 years old but I was adamant that I wasn't going down that route. I was a church youth worker for many years and loved working with young people and seeing them growing and developing in faith. About five years ago the niggle got louder and then one Easter Sunday I just knew it was a door I had to push... and here I am!
What do I like to do? Well, I love food and cooking and socialising round a meal. I am an expressive introvert (!) and I love board games (Catan is my favourite at the moment), books and American box sets – especially West Wing and Gilmore Girls. I also love sewing and crochet. We have two mad dogs, so I do a lot of walking, and as a family we love geocaching. I’m a country girl at heart so on days off you’ll find me on a beach or in a field (or in a coffee shop with a book).
A bit of background... I was born in Dorset – and I have three siblings and 10 nieces and nephews, three great nephews and one great niece! Christmas is quite busy. My mum lives in Ferndown, where I grew up, and goes to St Mary's where I became a Christian.
What am I passionate about? I love creating community and seeing families worship God together. My heart is for mission and telling people who don't know Jesus how much a better a life lived for him is – though I find actually doing that quite scary!
Anything else? I was diagnosed a coeliac three years ago - but have managed to find many ways of still enjoying coffee and cake – so if you’d like to know more maybe we should arrange one!
Looking forward to getting to know everyone!
Blessings
Kat
