THE new vicar of Wolvercote says he is settling in well as his parishioners near success in their quest for a new organ.

The Rev Charles Draper, of St Peter’s Church in First Turn, arrived from Faringdon last month.

The father-of-four has moved to Oxford with two of his sons and his wife, Jane, and says he has had “an incredibly warm welcome”.

Mr Draper, 56, added: “I had a wonderful time in Faringdon, but we had just finished a building project and it felt like it was time to move.

“We loved Oxfordshire and didn’t want to move far and I really liked St Peter’s Church and the vision people there had – it felt like the right fit.

“I am also looking forward to working in the wider church partnership we have in Wolvercote and Summertown, as well as working in Wytham, which is a more rural area. That’s something I have always valued.

“It’s also a wonderful time of year to be starting here, at Advent.”

Mr Draper spent 13 years in Faringdon, having previously held ministry in a number of areas. In Faringdon he oversaw construction of new rooms, known as the ‘Barber Rooms’, attached to the church.

He trained at St George’s Church in Taunton under the former Bishop of Oxford John Prichard, having previously been an engineer for GEC Traction in Manchester.

“Applying for a church ministry was something I had thought about for quite some time, and I learned under John,” he said.

“I had a year’s experience under him. He was an amazing vicar.”

After training for the ministry in Devon, he moved to Cambridge University to study theology at Ridley Hall.

He then did a curacy in Wareham, Dorset, where he met his wife, a teacher at a local school.

“After that I went to Maltby in South Yorkshire, and then Claydon in Buckinghamshire, which is in the Diocese of Oxford.

“When I later went to Faringdon we got lots of people involved in church and completed a massive building project.”

Two of Mr Draper’s sons are grown up but he says the other two both attend schools in Oxfordshire, with one hopefully set to join a sixth form in Oxford soon.

He is also hoping to help raise the last chunk of funding needed for a replacement organ parishioners want for St Peter’s.

They need £199,000 and as of last month more than £181,500 had been raised.

Mr Draper added: “Since we arrived in Wolvercote people have been incredibly warm and welcoming and I had a wonderful induction service. There are people of all ages in the parish and a lot of positivity, so it has been a really nice start.”