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We are the parish church for the village of Evington on the eastern edge of the city of Leicester, which is part of the Diocese of Leicester in the Church of England. With many schools, care homes, businesses and community groups in the parish, PARTNERSHIP is key to who we are.
We love to work with others for the benefit of all, while holding all those people and places in our daily prayers and acts of worship. We also work in partnership with several of our neighbouring churches including St Philip’s, St Peter’s and St Stephen’s Church of England churches, and we have strong relationships with Goodwood Evangelical Church and Wycliffe United Reformed Church. We work together as a team, partnering above all with the Holy Spirit, united in our commitment to respect the traditions handed down to us and to respond to our calling to reach out and find fresh ways to share the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. The best way to find out more about us is to come and join us!
Click or tap on a team member to learn more:
The Reverend Anthony Lees-Smith is Vicar of Evington. He is also part-time IME (Initial Ministerial Education) Officer for the Diocese of Leicester which means he supports those starting out in ordained ministry across the diocese.
Anthony came to St Denys in 2012 from a parish in Cambridge, but has local roots in the county. Having grown up in Mountsorrel, he studied Italian and French at Cambridge, spending a year with the Anglican Chaplain in Rome where he began to explore his vocation to ordained ministry. After a brief spell as an accountant in Oxford, he retrained as a primary school teacher and taught for several years in a large city-centre school in Peterborough.
He studied theology in Durham for three years and then in 2009 went back to Ely Diocese to be ordained and take up a post at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Arbury, North Cambridge. Anthony is married to Wendy and they have two daughters, Erica and Hilary.
Anthony Lees-SmithVicar
Mark Batchelor joined the St. Denys team as an ordinand (trainee) in September 2020. He was ordained in July 2022 and is now full-time curate.
Before answering a call to ministry Mark was a Geography teacher. He taught in Wigston for many years and loved to get involved with many aspects of school and community life.
Mark and his wife met as students at Leicester University and have stayed in Leicester ever since, they have three children. Mark continues to enjoy the exciting challenges of training for ministry and relishes becoming fully immersed in the life of St. Denys Church and Evington community.
Mark BatchelorCurate
Gerry Goode is our Churchwarden. Gerry can be contacted at churchwardens@stdenys.org.uk
Gerry GoodeChurchwarden
Qyan Arnachellum Qyan (pronounced “Keyan”) is our Church Administrator. Leicester born and bred, he has been a communicant member of the Church of England and has lived in the Diocese of Leicester, virtually all of his life.
As a young boy, he sang in the choir of St. Anne’s Church, Western Park, Leicester for several years where he also learned to play the piano and organ with Geoffrey Clarke ARCO (Associate of the Royal College of Organists) and has been a freelance organist at St. Denys for some time. He also enjoys playing at other churches in the Leicester and Coventry Dioceses when available to do so.
He enjoys singing and is involved with about six choirs! Qyan holds a degree in Law and Marketing from De Montfort University, Leicester. He can be contacted at office@stdenys.org.uk
Qyan ArnachellumChurch Administrator
Sarah Gregory is our Youth and Community worker. She has worked with children and young people for over 10 years in both secular and non secular environments. She previously worked as a teaching assistant at a school for children with autism, and most recently at a pupil referral unit before joining us here at St. Denys.
Alongside her work with young people, Sarah also worked as a Worship Pastor for several years at a church in Wales, and often uses her gifts in singing and playing the guitar to lead us in our musical worship during our services.
Sarah holds a degree in Business Studies from the University of the West of England.
Sarah GregoryYouth and Community Worker
Geraldine Moulden is our Lay Reader and Pioneer.
Geraldine MouldenLay Reader and Pioneer
Sian Rigby moved to the Leicester area just over 5 years ago. Having finished university at the University of Nottingham and St John’s College, she explored a call to work with those on the margins of society in a variety of ways, through the New Wine Discipleship Year and Diocesan internship scheme at Holy Trinity Leicester, working with their Compassion Ministry.
Following this year, Sian joined St Denys and continued to explore what God was calling her to do. From a young age Sian has been passionate about the Bible and seeing people from all walks of life grow in faith, and was licensed as a Reader at St Denys in October 2019.
Sian works for Together Leicester, a charity Joint Venture partnership between CUF and the Diocese of Leicester, supporting churches across Leicestershire to serve their local communities in a variety of ways.
Sian RigbyReader