Local Face: Michael Hunt

Michael Hunt (new Curate at St Mary’s Wendover and St Michael’s Halton) was born in 1964 in Guildford, Surrey, the middle son of three children, and brought up in Godalming, where his parents still live. Following school he went to Southampton University to study economics, and three years later, after graduating and getting engaged, he started as a trainee accountant with Hampshire County Council. His fiancée completed a year as a youth worker at a Baptist Church in Brentwood before they married and bought their first house in Winchester in 1986.

Michael’s training as an accountant led to him starting work for major accountancy firm KPMG in 1990. Their first two daughters were born in 1992 and 1994, before another job and house move – this time to live in Aylesbury where daughter number three was born in 1996. They continued to live there despite a new role at Warwick District Council. Fortunately an opportunity arose to become the Finance Director of a charity based in Amersham, a role Michael started in 2002 and he looked forward to 2003 as a year in which life might feel more balanced.

This was not to be as 8 weeks after their son and fourth child was born Michael’s wife suffered a major heart attack and died.

Life immediately afterwards was focused on the children and Michael’s own grieving. He returned to work briefly, but was eventually made redundant in 2004 following a merger and at this point he made the decision not to return to full time work, but started a distance learning Theology degree, and was appointed as a non-executive director of the local Primary Care Trust.

Life began to settle down, and Michael started to explore a return to work, although with a nagging sense about Christian ministry, following his experience in a variety of churches over the years: Methodist, Baptist, and Anglican. He had after all been a church treasurer, youth worker, member of church council, and so on, so why not be ordained? In due course he started a new job at Bucks Community Action – a job he continues today, although the organisation is now called Community Impact Bucks.

Around this time Michael met Margaret, also a widow, who had two girls. Their relationship slowly evolved and they decided to join their families together and married in 2007, starting a new family in a new home in Princes Risborough.

During this time Michael was accepted as an ordinand in the Church of England and started his part time theological training. Three long years of mixing family, employment and study finished in June this year when he was ordained as a Deacon. Michael says “I’m delighted to be the curate in the benefice of Wendover and Halton.

Whilst not everything is new as we have been worshipping at St Mary’s for the last 4 to 5 years, it is exciting to start a new role and I’m looking forward to getting to know more about the people and activities of St Mary’s and St Michael’s, as well as the wider village life of Wendover and Halton.”