Rev Derek Grimshaw is our Minister and Circuit Superintendent. He also serves Bramford and Elmsett Methodist Churches.
Derek was born in the village of Calverley, West Yorkshire. The village lies mid-way between Leeds and Bradford and both his parents worked in the mill in the village. The family attended the local Methodist Church with both mum and dad holding office in the Church.
After leaving school Derek worked most of his life in warehouse and transport management while having an active involvement in the local Church.
In 1985 Karen and Derek were married and both attended St Andrews Methodist Church in Undercliffe, an area of Bradford.
Their eldest daughter Laura was born in 1987, but sadly died when she was sixteen hours old.
They subsequently had two more girls, Amy and Emma.
They lived in Undercliffe, with their two daughters, until Derek became a Circuit Minister in 2005 when they moved to Hethersett, a village south west of Norwich.
He served as minister in the Norwich Circuit, with pastoral oversight of five Churches spread across a wide area of South Norfolk.
In 2013 Derek, Karen and Emma (their youngest daughter) moved to Ipswich where Derek took up the role of Superintendent to the Ipswich Circuit with pastoral oversight of Museum Street and Bramford Methodist Churches.
Both daughters are now married and living in East Anglia and they have one grandson Alexander.
In September 2017 he added Bramford Road and Elmsett to his role as minister.