Rev. David Weller has been appointed the new Vicar of the Beacon Church. He will start in January 2011. As a teenager David grew up in Birmingham, his father was a Vicar in West Heath – near the old BL works at Longbridge. David attended George Dixon School in Edgbaston, before going to Cardiff University. David became a Christian at the age of 17.

David’s previous career was in social work. He worked with ex-offenders, elderly people, people with disabilities, and people with AIDs for two charities and then for many years with Birmingham Social Services based in King’s Heath, Selly Oak Hospital and Hodge Hill.

David trained for the ministry in Nottingham and his first post was in Heath Town Wolverhampton, followed by another in Tamworth. Sue is married to Sue (who is also a Vicar, but we don’t know yet where she’ll work) and is father to Rachel aged 10. Rachel will be going to Meadow View.

Since 2005 David, Sue and Rachel have been working at Christ Church, the Anglican Church of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

David says

“Brazil is a wonderful place to live and work, the city is incredibly beautiful, the food great, the beaches nearby and you can see the famous statue of Christ from our garden. But Brazil is not without its challenges too – most especially the extreme weather in summer, the dreadful traffic and the threat of violence. It has been an amazing experience, but now the time has come to return home”

Finally you might possibly recognise David already, because for a period of about 15 years he was a contestant on a variety of TV game shows including Weakest Link, Countdown, Big Break and the Wheel of Fortune.

David is much look forward to living and working on Pheasey and to serving the community whether or not they are members of the Church.

Welcome David and even though I am an atheist I hope you bring great qualities to the estate.