Who’s Involved

Father Kevin Morris, Vicar

Father Kevin became Vicar of St Michael’s on 24th May 1996. He was born and educated in South Wales and later read music in North Wales, studying composition with William Mathias and Jeffrey Lewis. After this he spent a year in Pakistan, working with USPG in Lahore, before theological college in Cambridge. As part of his formation for ordination, Fr Kevin spent some time in Jerusalem, teaching at St George’s College.

Fr Kevin was ordained deacon in 1988 at Llandaff Cathedral and served as curate in the Parish of Roath in Cardiff, with special responsibility for St Philip’s church, Tremorfa, a church on a housing estate on the east side of Cardiff. He was ordained priest in 1989.

In 1991 he moved to London to be curate of St Alban’s, Holborn, an important and influential church in the early history of Anglo-Catholicism. The Vicar was Fr John Gaskell, one of the great preachers and spiritual directors of the day, and under his direction the church became renowned for its music and had a significant ministry to the homeless and people with AIDS. During this time Fr Kevin was also chaplain to three West End Theatres.

Fr Kevin has a passionate concern for how the parish church serves the whole community through its daily worship and service as well as through its buildings. As a result, his time at St Michael’s has been one which has seen a lot of physical changes to the church plant: the Hall has been refurbished, the church repainted (back to its original colours), a new Vestry and Sacristy have been completed and a new organ built.

In addition to being Vicar of St Michael’s and chair of the Bedford Park Festival, Fr Kevin served for 11 years as Director of Post Ordination Training in the Diocese of London, has been the London Diocesan chair of Affirming Catholicism, and is currently the President of Sion College, a London based college for clergy, which was founded in 1630.

Fr Kevin has a deep interest in liturgy, Biblical studies and music and in engaging with contemporary issues with a generous orthodoxy. He is also very interested in the interconnection of Christianity and the Arts and has a particular interest in the theatre and poetry: He is Chaplain to the Tabard Theatre and Chair of the WB Yeats Bedford Park Project.

Fr Kevin was the first incumbent to be married in post, and at St Michael’s, and he and Miriam have two children. In April 2015 he also became the priest-in-charge of the Parish of Acton Green and was made Vicar of St Peter’s Acton Green in May 2016.

David Beresford

David Beresford, who died in 2022 at the age of 82, led the St Michael & All Angels Church World War 1 Project, tracking and researching the lives of the 128 people named on its war memorials, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

From 2014 till 2018, to mark the centenary of WW1, David created large illustrated panels which were displayed in the church, commemorating many of those who had died in each of the years 1914-1918, with maps, pictures and details of the roads where they lived.

David was a regular worshipper at St. Michael’s for over 30 years, moving to Chiswick after meeting his future wife, Cathie James, in 1989. Their Marriage Blessing at St Michael’s took place in 1995. He served on the Parochial Church Council as Churchwarden from 1997 until 2001 – an exciting time in which the church saw, under the leadership of Father Kevin, the complete renovation and conversion of the Parish Hall into the Michael, Gabriel and Raphael Rooms of today. He was also a member of the altar serving team – taking up a ministry he first performed as a boy – and photographed events at St Michael’s, as part of the team of volunteer photographers.

The digital revolution completely altered the way in which the life of the church community was recorded. The WW1 website was one of several digital innovations in the archiving field. As Assistant Archivist, David attempted to preserve the patchy records of past St Michael’s life, as described in past reports and church magazines. He was also a member of the editorial team of the printed magazine, the Clarion. From 2014 to 2018 he was the lead researcher for St Michael’s World War One Centenary project, investigating the lives and families of the 128 names of the Fallen that appear on the memorials inside and outside the church. Before retirement he was a medical practitioner, for 25 years as an NHS GP, and latterly in Legal Medicine.