This article was included on page 23 in the April 2024 edition of the The Paphos Post – with thanks to owner, founder and editor Judith Evans, for including me so soon after I arrived.
On Sunday 21 January 2024 the Revd Paul Carr began his ministry as the new Priest of the Anglican Church of Paphos (incorporating Ayia Kyriaki, St Stephens, Tala and St Lukes, Polis). Paul arrived with Paula, his wife of 37 years, and Dylan, their 2-year-old Australian Labradoodle (NB. This photo was included in the article – in colour too!).
Paul explains how he came to be asked to serve in Cyprus: “I’d been in my previous parish (Billericay, Essex, UK) for 15+ years, the children (Ben 27 and Annabel 23) had ‘flown the nest’ and we felt it was the right time for us to move on too.”
“We were praying about where God might be leading us for the future and suddenly realised our prayers were ‘too narrow.’ We were thinking about a parish in the UK but began to realise that the world was God’s parish – so we set our prayers wider.”
Paul explains how being empty nesters gave them the opportunity to do something ‘out of the box’ and to have an adventure along the way. They’d holidayed in Cyprus a number of times, even worshipping at Ayia Kyriaki on one of those visits – so he knew what to expect when he applied back in May 2023.
Paul says there was no-one more surprised than him when he was invited to serve as Anglican Priest in Paphos after his visit in July 2023. Paul says: “What an amazing privilege to be given the opportunity to serve in such an historic region as Paphos with its links to the Apostle Paul, Barnabas, and early Christendom.”
Paul has an interesting background – spending 10 years in the building trade in sales and management, 8 years in the Prison Service before being ordained in 1997. Paul has been a music promoter, blogger, newspaper columnist to name but a few and has always enjoyed finding new ways to share the love of Jesus with others. He’s also a long-suffering supporter of Sunderland AFC.
Paul acknowledges that he will bring different gifts than his predecessors – which is only to be expected – but he hopes to bring new insight/experiences that will benefit all of the churches as well as the ex-pat and wider community. He gives an invitation to anyone who would like to meet up with him for a chat over a coffee or a beer – he also loves a curry – to get in touch!
Paul has a website revPACman.com where he posts regularly, and he can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter – just search for revPACman!
revPACman 