Welcome

to Ashley Methodist Church
3

Meet the Team

We are delighted to have been joined in the Market Drayton Methodist Circuit by Rev. Rob & Carol Cotton as our Minister and Lay Pastor, here at Ashley and at MDMC.

Rob was born on a farm in Staffordshire, he has been a life-long supporter of Stoke City, plus Notts County in recent years (since living in Nottingham for 16 years).  He also enjoys walking, swimming, films, music and gardening.

In 2024, Rob retired as Methodist Minister in Sandal, Wakefield.  Rob and his wife Carol took a very enjoyable ‘gap-year’ touring the UK in their beloved motorhome Freda, alongside caring for their Grandchildren, before coming to Market Drayton.

Rob was formerly Superintendent Minister of Alderley Edge and Knutsford, at KMC (Knutsford Methodist Church) and Plumley.  He served as Bible Society’s Senior Campaigns Manager leading city wide Campaigns in Bristol and Greater Manchester, then helped to develop nationwide campaigns such as Hope 08 and Biblefresh. Other previous appointments were in Arnold, Nottingham and Preston.

Carol was born in Alton, Staffordshire (of Alton Towers fame). After turbulent teenage years, Carol caught up with education later in life by, among other things, completing her MA last year. She has worked at Alton Towers, latterly as the resident bingo caller, also in a grocery shop, a restaurant, has been a personal carer, worked for Age UK managing a service to give carers respite. She has had three previous roles as a Lay Worker in Nottingham, Knutsford and Barnsley, all had a community focus alongside pastoral care.

Carol enjoys walking, theatre, cinema, gardening, cooking, baking and knitting. She loves being a Grandma and a mum too, and would describe herself first and foremost as this and a homemaker.

Rob and Carol have three children, Sarah, Steven and Timothy, plus seven Grandchildren.

They look forward to meeting you and if you do have any questions or want to know more about Jesus and the amazing churches here, do get in touch.

Weekly Notices
Circuit Plan

Services and Events

Here are our upcoming services, small-group meetings, and events. Anything that happens on a regular basis (e.g. weekly services) will show the next instance here. For more detailed service information please see our quarterly plan, available on the ‘Downloads‘ page.

News from Ashley!

To see more: our previous news articles and reports on past services, click here

What Can You Expect?

A Warm Welcome

An atmosphere of warmth, welcome and peace pervades this building and the people of Ashley Methodist Church.  We really enjoy meeting new people and welcoming visitors.  We are a sociable, welcoming and caring community.

Worship

Worship is never dull here.  With a team of local preachers as well as our minister to lead services there is variety in style and content.  We all enjoy a good sing of mostly traditional hymns but we are ready to try more modern ones. Services are held on Sunday mornings at 10.30am followed by fellowship over coffee and biscuits.

For Children

We have a range of books, toys and activities for any children to use during the service. A team of dedicated folk take time out to teach our children in the Junior Church on the first Sunday each month. We have occasional ‘All-In’ services where children actively participate in the worship. We also have a puppet ministry team who work with the young people in helping share the gospel and feature in the annual Christingle Service on the 1st Sunday in Advent .

We Look Forward To

Welcoming You

Contact Us

Address: Ashley Methodist Church, Wesleyan Road, Ashley, Market Drayton TF9 4JT

Minister: Rev. Rob Cotton    

Lay Worker: Carol Cotton    

Please use the contact form if you would like to contact Rev Rob or Carol

You’re always welcome to join us on a Sunday – but if you have a question to ask or simply want to get in touch, please use the contact form to do so.

Contact Form