An Introduction from Reverend Stephanie Stroebel:
I am married to Kurt; we have three adult children and eight grandchildren - family has always been a significant and important part of my life. My parents met in India during the Second World War but returned to live in England which is where I was born, in Devon. I moved with my parents to Eire when I was eighteen months old which is where we lived for the next seven years. We then returned to Essex (Chelmsford) for two years before emigrating to South Africa. We lived in Durban for a while (I was confirmed there at Emmanuel Cathedral) and then moved to Johannesburg. I completed my education in Jo’burg at Yeoville Convent.
After Kurt and I married we moved numerous times and the most memorable move was to a small town called Klerksdorp which is a hundred miles south west of Johannesburg (this is where Desmond Tutu comes from). I became very involved in the local township, Jouberton, starting a soup kitchen in the community centre for pensioners and under school age children with a group of friends from a church prayer group. We developed some wonderful friendships with the people there. I have a deep passion for peace and justice issues…
“What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”? Micah 6:8
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”. Amos 5:24
As a family we moved back to England in 1987 and lived in the Hockley area for fifteen years – which is quite a record for us!! Kurt and I co-run a property development and management company. He works on the development side of the business while I run the office.
Whilst studying on the Chelmsford diocesan Course of Christian Studies I began to experience a growing sense that God was calling me to be a priest. I was trained for ministry on the North Thames Ministerial Training Course and was ordained deacon in 2006 and priest in 2007, in Chelmsford. I spent the first year of my curacy at Ashingdon with South Fambridge and Canewdon with Paglesham and then the following three years at the Church of the Holy Trinity, South Woodham Ferrers whilst still living at our home in Hockley.
The three years we spent in South Woodham Ferrers were both challenging and fulfilling and in that time we became close to people whom it was hard to leave when the time came. The most incredible privilege that all of us who undertake God’s ministry enjoy, is that we come to know people at an extraordinarily deep level, personally and spiritually, and we are permitted to share in deeply personal experiences both of sadness and of joy.
The licensing service on Wednesday 9th June was incredibly special – a truly memorable occasion where we met wonderful people who welcomed us with such warmth.
We are thrilled and delighted with our move to “The Woodhams”, and looking forward to the ministry that we shall share in the years that lie ahead. We also look forward to making the Rectory a real home, and a place of warmth and hospitality.
We both want to assure you of our love, and our prayers…
Stephanie & Kurt Stroebel