“I was pleased as punch to be offered the position”

This year we have been sharing stories about the type of roles people play in the life of the diocese. In this piece, we speak to Rebecca Giles, who is the Deanery Implementation Team secretary for East Wivelshire.

 

Rebecca Giles works in multiple roles for East Wivelshire deanery and says the things she does are ‘a really good fit’ with her skills set.

She is Kit Hill Area Administrator, East Wivelshire Deanery Administrator and Communications Champion. She supports 11 local churches and assists the Rural Dean with administration across 32 churches in the deanery.

She explains: “My responsibilities include coordinating policy and communications, maintaining directories, producing newsletters, and managing the deanery website and social media to ensure clear and consistent information.”

She also helps the Deanery Implementation Team with its communications strategy, provides practical guidance to ministers and volunteers, and promotes community events with creative outreach.

She says: “Recently, I produced a collective programme of activities across the Callington cluster for December’s Christmas services and events, encouraging people to share in the celebrations across the benefice.

“I also coordinated the Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary’s Callington, which featured around 20 trees sponsored by local businesses and organisations.”

“I do believe everything happens for a reason, and I believe I am exactly where I am supposed to be.”

Growing up in the outskirts of London, Rebecca has always felt a draw to the Southwest and since moving to Cornwall in 2015, she’s ‘never looked back’.

She has many skills and spent 13 years working in Feltham Young Offenders Institute. In 2012 she trained as a counsellor and after qualifying in 2015, took up a placement for a funded counselling service.

She says: “A set of circumstance aligned creating a chance to move to Cornwall, and I have never looked back.

“Everything seemed to fit into place, and I met my now husband Nick and we have our Collie-Cross, Steve, and are happily child free.

“We love to travel, are slightly addicted to antiques markets and I have started an events committee at my local church.”

After many years running her own business selling paper flowers and working in the wedding industry, the effects of Covid and changes in the industry saw things naturally winding down.

In 2023 she began to look for new opportunities.

She explains: “I had been keeping an eye out for a part time local job to coincide with my self-employed work.

“My husband showed me a job advert for an administrator for the local churches. I’d often wondered how my quite diverse skill set might come together but this somehow felt like a really good fit.

“I was pleased as punch to be offered the position.”

Rebecca was initially given 12 hours a week and a little over a year after working for the local churches was offered an additional seven hours for Deanery Administration.

She says: “In recent months I was asked to join the Deanery Implementation Team and it felt like a good place to get better acquainted to the 32 churches and hopefully share some of my skill set.

“I have also been asked to be a Communications Champion to the diocese which feels like an exciting opportunity.”

“I have also been asked to be a Communications Champion to the diocese which feels like an exciting opportunity.”

Rebecca says she is ‘one of those people who always likes to be busy’, in her spare time she voluntarily started the Callington F.U.N. (Fundraising / Uniting / Nurturing) project – a committee of both church and community members. Together they discuss and arrange events for the church to help raise funds.

Callington F.U.N. has organised the annual Christmas Tree Festival, a Trelawny Shout with shanty band on St Pirans day and VE Day celebrations.

Rebecca says working as DiT secretary is ‘not like anything I have done before’.

“I really love my job,” she says. “I enjoy working with people, the variety, and it feels very rewarding.

“I also feel very appreciated which goes a long way to job satisfaction.

“I do believe everything happens for a reason, and I believe I am exactly where I am supposed to be.”