Meet the St. Mary's Church Team

Rev. Heather Wilcox

Having grown up in Essex, I spent my early adulthood living in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, where I trained as a nurse, working there for 19 years in various roles before specialising in anticoagulation and setting up a nurse led Deep Vein Thrombosis clinic. In Kings Lynn I met my husband and we had our two children both adults now, Megan who is married to Scott and lives in Long Stratton and Luke who still lives with us. 15 years ago, I was ordained and following my curacy on the coast in Pakefield just south of Lowestoft, I spent the next 10 years in a group of parishes centred around Long Stratton just south of Norwich in Norfolk.

I have been the Priest in charge of West Bergholt and 5 other neighbouring parishes since November 2021.I love being a Priest, telling others about Jesus and how much he loves them and serving the local communities, and I have been a school governor since my daughter started school 22 years ago, in that time I have been a parent, community and foundation governor and been the chair of governors on two occasions. In my spare time, I like getting creative and enjoy a variety of crafts, I also like getting outdoors for walks, gardening and swimming. 

You can contact Rev Heather at: revheatherwilcox@heathlands.essex.sch.uk

Liz Dixon - Governor

My name is Liz, and I am a member of St Mary’s Church and have recently been appointed as a Governor at Heathlands. Like Gemma, my role as Governor is to support Heathlands in ensuring that its Christian ethos is encouraged throughout the school’s curriculum and activities. I started coming to St Mary’s in 1999, after my son was christened there. I had been interested in exploring the Christian faith since I was a teenager, but it was by getting to know the folk at St Mary’s that helped me connect with God on a much more meaningful and rewarding level. I really enjoy helping with the different activities in church, such as planning and leading some of the services on a Sunday morning and organising some of our outreach events like the Giant Village Advent Windows Trail, which has been great fun. For the past three years I have been doing a part time study course to train to become a lay reader. I love being part of St Mary’s Church because it’s like being part of a big family, but I also love serving the community.

I feel that the link between the church and the school is very important, and I am committed to building on that link so that St Mary’s Church can support the school in practical ways and in prayer. When I’m not studying or doing things for church, I enjoy walking, doing keep fit classes, meeting friends and watching films, especially all the Marvel films!