Revd Dr Jen Brown becomes Rector of Abingdon-on-Thames

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This evening (Tuesday, 21 October) at St Helen’s Church, the Rev Dr Jen Brown was formally welcomed as the new Team Rector of the Parish of Abingdon-on-Thames by the Bishop of Dorchester, Gavin Collins, and members of the churches.

Jen is already well known in Abingdon. She has been serving as Associate Priest in the parish while also leading training for the College of Preachers. Before that, she taught theology.

Her interests include the links between science and faith, care for creation, and animal welfare. She holds a PhD in the Psychology of Religion, exploring how people’s faith connects with their sense of right and wrong.

As Rector, Jen will now have oversight of the parish’s three churches – St Helen’s, St Nicolas’, and St Michael and All Angels. She made and signed some declarations and was given the keys of the churches. She takes over from the Rev Dr Charles Miller, who retired last year.

Thanks to the St Helen’s Zoom Meeting for the second image.


P.S. The Creation by Haydn already mentioned in last week’s What’s on is a joyful piece of classical music performed by the Inauguration Choir and Orchestra conducted by Sally Mears to welcome Rev Dr Jen Brown to become Rector of St Helen’s Church.

A Couple of Centimetres of Rain and a Lot to Be Thankful For

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Today brought a fair amount of rain. A local canoeist estimated a rise of a “couple of centimetres” on her gauge at the steps by St Helen’s Wharf. The Abingdon Rainfall Gauge measured 15.3 mm. By the look of it, the local ducks didn’t mind. For the reservoirs and the River Thames alike, it was not a flood, but every drop helps as we still have a hosepipe ban.

It also had the effect of bringing down more of the leaves at St Helens Wharf and plastering them onto the road and seats and boats.

When I return along St Helen’s Wharf on a day like this — when the sun breaks through after the rain — I’m reminded how lucky we are to live here in Abingdon.

Abingdon Marathon 2025

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The Abingdon Marathon took place this morning, starting at 9am . (The four-minute video above shows the runners leaving Tilsley Park at the start.)

The overall winner, Tom Hollis, competed in the 40+ age group. Many of the front-runners wore England vests, representing the country’s leading athletes across age categories from 35+ to 75+. This year, the Abingdon Marathon joined the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Rankings as a qualifying race.

The weather was cool, cloudy, with occasional showers. After about four miles, the route brought runners through the Market Place.

This was one of the areas where there was a lot of support.

The course took runners down East St Helen Street,

along St Helen’s Wharf,

over the Iron Bridge, and out on a loop of South Abingdon and the surrounding villages, which runners completed twice before heading back up Bath Street to Tilsley Park .

Back on the Market Place, The Town Crier was still on hand to ring through the last few runners.

Stewards gave a huge cheer to the final runner – who was moving twice as fast as the other last runners. Possibly she’d started late.

There was a final blast on a traffic-cone.

I revisited the marathon in time to see some of the sub-four-hour finishers in Tilsley Park.

Another well organised event, made special by the enthusiastic support and cheerful volunteers.

Abingdon Parkrun – Good Turnout

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There was a good turnout at the Abingdon 5K Parkrun this morning, with 502 finishers — the fourth-highest total since the event began in 2011. Notably, three of the top four have taken place in 2025.

Cool, dry conditions made for good running weather, and a large team of volunteers helped ensure the event ran smoothly.

While many participants were unaffiliated fun runners or walkers, the field also included members of a wide range of clubs – from local teams such as Abbey Running Club, Abingdon AC, Harwell Harriers, and White Horse Harriers, to visitors from further afield, including North Shields Polytechnic AC from the North East and Canterbury Harriers from the South East.

With the Abingdon Marathon taking place tomorrow, some runners treated the Parkrun as a gentle warm-up.

The two-lap course followed its familiar route past Abingdon Lock and Kingfisher Barn. By the second lap, the lead runners were well spaced.

After crossing the finish line, and checking their times, many participants made their way to Abingdon Market Place, where coffee and conversation have become a Saturday morning tradition.