THERE is a new face in the Beccles parish with the appointment of a new curate at St Michael's and St Luke's churches.The Rev Martin Phillips-Last will be training for his priesthood in Beccles over the next three years, under the wing of the Rev John Beauchamp.

THERE is a new face in the Beccles parish with the appointment of a new curate at St Michael's and St Luke's churches.

The Rev Martin Phillips-Last will be training for his priesthood in Beccles over the next three years, under the wing of the Rev John Beauchamp.

He comes to Beccles after completing a degree in Theology at St John's College in Nottingham, and will now be learning about the practical side of the ministry.

He decided to move to the town after being shown a portfolio of the parish and being invited to look around. He said that he absolutely loved what he saw.

“It's an incredibly welcoming and friendly place and there's a real sense of community,” said Mr Phillips-Last, 42.

“There's diversity here and there's lots going on, which is great. There are lots of different people to meet from all different walks of life. I can't wait.”

Mr Phillips-Last started his career at St Peter's Church in Ipswich before moving to Nottingham to study in 2008.

He moved to Beccles in June with his wife Kathryn, two of his daughters, Grace, four, and Eve, two, and his son Xavier, 10.

In the first year of his training he will be focusing mainly on funerals, before he is ordained a priest and then able to tackle weddings and baptisms.

Mr Phillips-Last started going to church in the early '90s when his eldest daughter joined a church school, although he first felt the pull to be a vicar when he was a child. “I felt this call to be a part of what was going on, to give my life to God and his service,” he explained.

He was welcomed into the parish at the St Michael's Church 600-year anniversary celebrations at the weekend.

The previous curate was Rev Richard Henderson, who left in the summer of 2009 and took on an appointment as team vicar at Reydon.