New priest-in-charge at All Saints' Church in Sudbury keen to form strong partnerships between town's churches

A Sudbury vicar hopes to form a strong partnership between three parish churches after being appointed to take on a further role in the town.

The Rev Canon Cheryl Collins has been licensed as the new priest-in-charge at All Saints’ Church after the role was left vacant earlier this year, following the departure of the Rev Simon Gill.

“This was on the cards before he left,” she said. “But it took a while to sort out the legalities.”

Alongside her duties as the vicar of St Gregory’s Church, Canon Collins will be responsible for All Saints’, while receiving further support from the Rev Chris Ramsey at St Andrew’s Church in Great Cornard, who will be serving as an assistant priest.

Reflecting on the additional responsibilities the role will entail, Canon Collins said she hopes the move will enable a stronger bond to be established between the three neighbouring churches.

“It’s about working together,” she said. “We want to look at it as an opportunity, rather than a crisis.”

Praising the recent grant awarded to All Saints’ Church from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a series of community and restoration projects, Canon Collins said she hoped the ambitious plans would help to attract further visitors.

“We are working on how to engage the community with learning about the history of the church,” she said. “It has had a lot of famous vicars, such as Samuel Crossman.”

The team at St Gregory’s Church are currently exploring ideas to pay homage to the Archbishop Simon of Sudbury, who was beheaded during the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.