Kirralee Nicolle
9 August 2022
The Venerable Greg Allinson is looking forward to doing ministry in a new way following his retirement from full-time parish ministry.
Mr Allinson recently retired as Archdeacon of Kew and vicar-in-charge of St Mark’s Camberwell.
He had served in full-time ministry for 31 years and as a vicar-in-charge for 22 years. Until recently, he had also served on the boards of Camberwell Grammar and Camberwell Girls’ Grammar schools.
He spent 13 years as vicar-in-charge at St Mark’s Camberwell, and said he was proud of his longevity in the role, his consistently high standard of preaching and his ability to engage parishioners from various demographics.
“When I first arrived, [the parish demographic was] very white [and] Anglo-Saxon,” he said.
“Now [St Mark’s looks] like the demographic of Camberwell.”
Mr Allinson also said joyful aspects of his time in ministry were his involvement in the music ministry at St Mark’s as well as watching people come to faith.
Mr Allinson said the extra decision-making with COVID-19 meant his exhaustion levels rose, and he chose to step back and reassess which ministries he would focus on now.
“I want to do ministry until I drop dead, but at a different pace and in a different way,” he said.
“My plan is to have the rest of the year off and then look at some locums next year and see how I feel about that.
“It’s been a privilege to serve in ministry for so long and I look forward to doing it more, just in a different format.”
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