Meet The Team

Ruth took up this post in September 2022. She was ordained as a Baptist Christian Minister in 1988 and has had a variety of ministries. Latterly she has spent ten years delivering chaplaincy in a charity in central London. She has wide experience of working with other Christian traditions as well as other world faiths.

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Major Christine Perkins has been a Salvation Army Officer for more than 30 years, formerly a registered nurse and midwife. She is married to Stephen and together they have four sons and three grandsons. They have worked together for many years in various Salvation Army Church and community centres around the country, from the Channel Islands to Newcastle, Leeds and the south coast. Christine has especially been involved in supporting families, through parenting and multi- generational support and with a heart for journeying with people is using the experience in airport chaplaincy, meeting people at their point of need, often in stressful situations - both staff and passengers alike. Christine’s interests include walking, travel, reading and interior design.

David started as a volunteer Christian chaplain in August 2018. He has a background in aerospace testing and lay church leadership. “Ever since I was a child, I have loved being in airports and really enjoy engaging with passengers and especially with staff. It is a true honour and pleasure to be part of such a wonderful team.” he says. Another love of David’s is motorcycling and is a member of the Christian Motorcyclists Association. “Please say hello if you see me around Heathrow, it would be my pleasure to have a chat or pray for you”.

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My name is John Mackerness, and I am a minister in the United Reformed Church. I was ordained in 2000 and joined the Heathrow’s Chaplaincy Team as a full-time chaplain in Jan 2010 having led churches in Luton & Dunstable and West Yorkshire. Before coming into ministry I spent 24 years working for ABC Travel Guides who produced the ABC World Airways Guide and numerous airline timetables including ones for British Airways and S.A.S. so I had a good grounding in aviation. I always said that if I went into full time ministry then I wanted to be with people in the workplace and there is no better place to do that than at Heathrow. I also get to lead worship in a wide variety of different churches. Within the chaplaincy team I lead on emergency response and also look after getting people’s passes and am based in Terminal 5. Outside of the Airport I enjoy reading, watching TV and films and have interests in military history and psychology especially the psychology of religion.

Judi is one of the volunteer Christian chaplains. She is married to Steve and they have four children. As a family they love to travel! Along with a counselling skills qualification, Judi’s background was working with children, including those who had special needs and their families. With this background, along with helping any passengers or staff at the airport, she is particularly drawn to families who are travelling - they often need an extra pair of hands! It is a privilege to be able to show care and compassion to those working at or travelling through Heathrow, in the same way Jesus Christ showed compassion to those He met.

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Major Stephen Perkins has been a Salvation Army Officer for many years in Church, Community Centre and regional appointments around the country. Former experience in mental health has enabled informed pastoral ministry during those years. Stephen is now part time as a member of the Heathrow Airport Chaplaincy team, privileged to be available to give support or a listening ear to both passengers and staff alike.

Some of Steve’s earliest memories are of becoming a Christian and wanting a career in aviation! Following an economics degree at Cardiff Business School he joined the British Airways Graduate scheme. After 11 years mainly in safety management, he joined the airside safety team of Heathrow for 4 years. He left to spend more time in church related activities and along with preaching engagements regularly takes school assemblies. Steve has previous been a chair of school governors and a trustee of several charities. He has been a chaplain at Heathrow for 10 years and since the end of 2020 until 2022 had the privilege of giving the operational leadership to the chaplaincy. He is married to Judi and they have 4 children.

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