ABOUT US
Christ Church Moldgreen, together with our sister church, St James Rawthorpe forms a benefice in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. We are part of the Church of England (Anglican) denomination and our worship is evangelical in style. Our Vicar, the Rev'd Ericcson Mapfumo is happy to answer any questions you may have about us. Please don't hesitate to get in touch!
CHILDREN'S WORK
We welcome children and families in church and offer regular children's work as part of our services. Please do contact us for more information. There is a large playpen and variety of children's toys available in church, which parents are welcome to use.
HOW WE WORSHIP
We are an open evangelical parish. Services are based on Common Worship and the music is led by a contemporary worship group with vocalists, guitar, flute and drums. We sing a mixture of contemporary songs and hymns. Microphones are used and we have a hearing loop. Songs are projected on a big screen and words to services are available in printed booklets.
ACCESSIBILITY
Our church is family friendly and wheelchair accessible with level access to the main doors, a wheelchair ramp to the second door and a disabled toilet. There is disabled parking available. We particularly welcome children with additional needs and autism and won't bat an eyelid if you need to move around during the service or if children make a joyful (or otherwise) noise!
ABOUT OUR VICAR
Revd Dr Ericcson T. Mapfumo is a missional priest in Charge of Christ Church Moldgreen and St James Rawthorpe and Anglican Chaplain at the University of Huddersfield. Prior to ministry, he also had a background in Building Physics and was a work-based assessor, internal verifier and tutor in the built environment. He trained for ordination at St Hild College as a full-time contextual student, where he worked as a community facilitator and project coordinator for St Mary the Virgin (now Central Barnsley). After a year in this context, he joined the chaplaincy team at Barnsley College, offering pastoral care to staff and students. More recently, he was a tutor at the Kingdom School of Theology (KST). Ericcson is a former St Hild student, earning a BA and an MA in Theology, Ministry and Mission accredited by Durham University. He was ordained deacon in 2018 and served his curacy in Leeds at St Aidan’s (2018-2019) and St Martin’s Potternewton and Little London (2019-2023).
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As a Shona from Zimbabwe, he was raised in an Indigenous African Pentecostal Church known as Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA), where he worshipped for over 20 years. He attended several African Diaspora and European Pentecostal-based churches in the UK before joining a charismatic evangelical Anglican Church in Barnsley (St Georges), which broadened his perspectives on Pentecostalism.
Through national and international networks, he has developed his research background in neo-Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe and African diasporic spirituality. His co-authored publications with Dr Paul Mocombe and Dr Carol Tomlin focus on cultural and sociological forms of African diasporic communities in the UK and USA. Ericcson’s forthcoming book Black Clergy: Towards a Sense of Belonging, is scheduled for release at the end of 2023. He is one of the course tutors on the Pentecostal stream.
Research and Supervision Interests
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Sociology of Pentecostalism
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Pentecostal Leadership
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Congregational studies
