A RECTOR is to enjoy a change of scenery when he takes up his new post at one of South Woodford's busiest churches - after years of living in war-torn Africa.

Rev Ian Tarrant will join St Mary's Church, in the High Road, this Sunday (September 6) after more than a year of searching by it elders for someone to fill the position permanently.

Rev Tarrant knows the area well, having been born in Wanstead, but spent much of the 1990s living in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo during years of strife and warfare.

His family moved to what was then Zaire in the late 1980s as part of the reverend's work for the Anglican Church, but soon found themselves caught up in the "Liberation" war which ousted its leader President Joseph Mobutu.

“God was calling me to work there,” said the 52-year-old father-of-three. “I really enjoyed the work I was doing and the people that I was working with, but of course that part of Africa is much less developed than England is. There was no electricity, running water, not much in the shops

“When the war broke out we decided we'd try and stay put as long as we could. But one day there was an artillery bombardment on the town where we were living. You can't argue or reason with artillery shelling so that was the point we decided to leave.

"We went to Uganda for six months, but once the war had moved to another part of the country we returned.”

The family finally flew back to England in 1998, with Rev Tarrant taking up the post of Senior Anglican Chaplain at the University of Nottingham.

Rev Tarrant said he was overjoyed to be returning to his roots, but was sad to be living the Midlands City. He said: “I very much enjoyed my time at Nottingham University, there was a strong church, but the sad thing about it was the students were always leaving just as you were getting to know them. Most courses ended after a year or three years.”

He added:"I'm looking forward to getting started and I look forward to making new friends, and to worshipping, learning and witnessing with the people of St Mary’s."

Q and A

Why did you decide to devote your life to your religion?

“I joined a Christian group when I was at university, and we went away for a week to help out at a church in Middlesex. Some of the people I was staying with asked if I'd ever though about being ordained. Initially I didn't want to, I was training to be a physicist and wanted to focus on that, but the idea took root in my head.

“After a while I realised that maybe it was God's calling for me to do it.”

What is your plan for St Mary's and what do you hope to achieve?

“I want to see the church make more impact on the local community, bringing more people into the church and taking Christian values out into wider society.

“For the next few months I just want to get to know and meet lots of people and get to know the area better. I want to find out what direction local people want to go in.

What place do you think Christianity has in modern Britain? Do you think its popularity is declining?

“I think Christianity is alive and well, but we need to learn to live together with people of other faiths. They say people are turning away from the church in England because they are satisfied with the material things they have. When I was in Africa the church was very strong - people have a much more hand to mouth existence, so they put a lot of trust and faith in God.”

What are your plans for the future?

“I hope to stay at the church at least for five years, but it's down to God where I go and what I do next.”