Who's who

Hugh Palmer was installed as Rector of All Souls Church in June 2005. "It is certainly an exciting challenge to have a platform for the gospel in the heart of a capital city as cosmopolitan as London.  The challenge is all the richer when the platform comes with the history and world-wide links of All Souls."

"So our mission statement 'Growing an international community to reach a multicultural society for Christ' sums up the realities of both God's purposes and All Souls' life.  It is a privilege to work in partnership with so many others to make the most of the opportunities to tell of Jesus, teach what it means to be his followers, and to grow together in living out that vision."

Hugh became a Christian through the witness of a student friend while studying Law at Cambridge University.  Before training for the ordained ministry at Ridley Hall, he taught briefly at a comprehensive school in north London.

Once ordained, Hugh spent nine years in Norfolk, first as a curate under Gordon Bridger at Holy Trinity, Norwich, later going on to become Bishop Maurice Wood's Chaplain for Mission and Training.  It was also during his time in Norfolk that he met and married his wife Clare.  They then spent ten years serving at St Helen's Bishopsgate in London where Hugh had responsibility for leading the staff team under Dick Lucas.

In 1995, Hugh and Clare moved north to Sheffield where Hugh succeeded Philip Hacking as Vicar of Christ Church, Fulwood two years later.  During his ministry, Hugh has led a number of university and parish missions, besides speaking overseas on a number of occasions, as well as at a number of conventions in the UK.  He has chaired New Word Alive since its start in 2008, and is a regular speaker there.

Hugh and Clare have three children; Anna, a teacher, and Lucy, a midwife, are both married while Mark has just finished his university course at Durham.

Hobbies shared by the whole family include music and sport as well as reading books for relaxation "from biographies to thrillers".