Hi! My name is Eleanor Rice and I am the children, youth and families leader at Bulwell URC.

My favourite colour is orange. I try my best to wear something orange every day as I like to think it brightens up the day and makes me smile. When I’m not at work I love to read, Erica James The Holiday is my favourite book as well as books by Brandon Sanderson – you should check him out his books are great! I am also a big fan of the TV series NCIS, the only crime drama that I can watch which helps me relax.  I also love spending time with my husband Paul and our dog Cooper. We like going out for long walks - I think Cooper has a mission to find the muddiest puddle and jump in it whenever we go out! He loves water and mud and all things smelly!

I grew up in a Christian family in Chesterfield and became a committed Christian at 16. At 18 I did my gap year with Youth With a Mission (YWAM), where I travelled to Australia to learn more about God. I ended up doing a lot of youth and children’s work and I fell in love with it! When I came back to the UK I did my degree in Youth Work and Theology with CYM (Children, Youth and Mission Centre) at St Johns College, Beeston with a placement in Sheffield before moving to Nottingham.

My favourite bible verse is Matthew 6:25-26
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sew or reap or store away in barns yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they?”

Life is difficult and there is a lot to worry about, but when I see the birds I remember their song and who provides for them and I smile a bit more and worry a little less.