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St John's College: John's Hall

Visiting Fellows

The College also has a number of visiting Fellows who work with the College in a variety of ways

Revd Dr Alan Bartlett

Revd Canon Dr Alan Bartlett MA PhD
Visiting Fellow in Anglicanism.

Alan was appointed tutor in Church History, Spirituality and Anglican Studies in February 1996 and remained on the College staff until October 2008. During this time he was also Programme Director for the newly-started MA in Theology and Ministry and DMin programmes and taught for the Dept of Theology and Religion. His appointment to teach ‘Anglican Studies’ was a new departure for Cranmer Hall, and indeed for a Church of England theological college. It marked St John’s College’s serious commitment to enriching and articulating its Anglican ethos.

Alan is the author of a key book on Anglican identity and spirituality, A Passionate Balance (published by DLT in 2007). He has written a number of articles on Anglican history and ecclesiology and served as a board member for Anvil. He has particular expertise in the study of Richard Hooker, though he also ranges more widely through Classic Anglicanism (Anglicanism of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries).

Alan has also published Humane Christianity (DLT 2004), based on the Durham Cathedral Lent Lectures in 2002, which offered a method for bringing the resources of historic Christian spirituality into intelligent and honest conversation with the needs and values of the modern Church. He is currently engaged in co-authoring a book (with the Revd Dr Roger Walton at the Wesley Study Centre and Fr Chris Hughes at Ushaw College) on Practical Theology, Real God, Real World, to be published by SPCK in 2009. This book will include a chapter exploring an ‘Anglican Practical Theology’.

Alan is now Vicar of St Giles’ Parish in Durham City and Priest in Charge of Sherburn and Shadforth. He continues to teach in College – an MATM module, ‘Issues of Authority in Anglicanism’ - and more widely and supervises for the DMin programme. He is married to Helen, lay chaplain at St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham, and they have two teenage children.

Dr Mark Bonnington

Dr Mark Bonnington, Handley Moule Fellow in New Testament Studies.

Mark was brought up in Surrey before studying Maths and then Theology at Nottingham University. After writing a doctorate on Galatians he taught NT at St John’s College, Durham for 12 years, specialising in Paul’s Theology and the Johannine Literature. He has been involved in the New Churches movement since before he was ten years old. He has published articles on the NT, Judaism and charismatic theology. Mark is also Senior Leader of King’s Church, Durham (http://www.kcd.org.uk/), an Ichthus Link Church with a significant student ministry, and works for the Christian Leaders’ Forum, a North East initiative that seeks to impassion and equip people for leadership in the 21st century Church.

Brian Brown

Revd Brian Brown

David Bridge writes:
Brian came into Methodism, as many did in the 50s and 60s, through a university Methsoc, in this case Bristol. He candidated for the ministry, trained at Handsworth College, did some teaching in an inner city Birmingham school and, after two years as a probationer minister, joined the staff of SCM in schools. Following that he became a lecturer at the Dudley College of Education where he came under the influence of Alan Dale. He became aware that television had superseded books as the main medium of communication in many homes and he became involved in of the Television Research Unit at Oxford Polytechnic, as it was then called.

A spell in hospital, having major heart surgery, made him think afresh about what he wanted to do with his life. About this time he was put in touch with certain television companies who were exploring the use of cartoons as a way of teaching religion to children. He was impressed with the animation but not with the scripts. The great problem, as he saw it, was how to tell the most important story in the world in a medium usually associated with the imaginary and the fantastic. How could a real story about real people in real situations be told in a medium more usually associated with animals that talk? He did not want to create a fantasy situation because this would send children the message that Bible stories were fantasy. Nor did he want simply to tell the stories without any regard for their context. He was looking for a third way.

He spent the next few years learning about television, borrowing money (including the remortgaging of his house) and producing some experimental films. This led eventually to the making of StoryKeepers. This told the story of a group of people, adults and children, living in Rome at the time of Nero’s persecution of Christians. They had a great many adventures and they also told the stories of Jesus. In each episode the adventure in Rome would echo an event in the life of Jesus or some aspect of his teaching. StoryKeepers was first shown on ITV in 1997 and attracted a large and appreciative audience. In the following year, research showed that 25% of all children aged 4-9 had seen at least one episode, that the programmes were averaging 29% share of viewers at the time of the broadcast and that audiences were between 1.2 and 1.3 million. Versions, dubbed into the local language, were shown on television channels through the world. Linked resources such as books and a guide for teachers were published, and Scripture Union made a programme for a holiday Bible school based on the series.

A new series, Friends and Heroes, which takes the story of the early church further, while retaining the essential concepts of StoryKeepers, has been made at a cost of over £20 million and has already been shown twice on BBC. Now Brian is in discussion with the controller of the CBeebies channel and others about a series to be aimed at preschool children.

Joel Edward

The Revd Dr Joel Edwards

Joel Edwards, a British immigrant from Jamaica, is an honorary Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral. He was a Probation Officer for 14 years and the senior pastor of Mile End New Testament New Church of God for 10 years.

Mr Edwards was offered the post of General Secretary of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance in 1988, becoming UK Director for the Evangelical Alliance UK four years later and General Director of the Evangelical Alliance UK in 1997. He received a medal of appreciation for services to Jamaica in 2003, an honorary doctorate from St Andrew’s University in 2007, and is a published author.

He has been appointed as a member of the International Religious Advisory Council to the Faith Foundation, which will give advice and help Tony Blair on the Foundation’s work and plans.

He becomes the first International Director of Micah Challenge (2008). Micah Challenge is a global Christian campaign which aims to deepen its engagement with impoverished and marginalised communities; and to challenge international leaders, and leaders of rich and poor countries, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015.

David Flood

Dr David Flood

has been Master of the Choristers and Organist at Canterbury Cathedral, England since 1988. Having previously studied at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, he was Assistant Organist at Canterbury and then Master of the Choristers and Organist at Lincoln Cathedral.

The choir of Canterbury Cathedral performs every day at the highest standards, with a repertoire of music spanning 600 years. David has made a sequence of highly acclaimed recordings with them together with regular TV and radio appearances. The choir continues to tour extensively in Europe and in N America.

David directs a summer Children’s Choirs Festival in Canterbury Cathedral, featuring up to 400 children. He is much in demand, as his time permits, to direct choral festivals and workshops around the world. He was invited by the Latvian Ministry of Culture to work with the Riga Dom Boys Choir, he has directed the Berkshire Choral Festival in Massachusetts and regularly visits choirs, parishes and dioceses in many US states.

He enjoys one of the best roles in the world, to direct beautiful music on a daily basis in Canterbury Cathedral and travel to work with friends around the world. He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music by the University of Kent in 2002 and an Honorary Fellowship of Canterbury Christ Church University in 2008.

Richard Giles

The Very Revd Richard Giles

is an Anglican priest who grew up in Birmingham and gained degrees in town planning and theology at Newcastle University. After training at Cuddesdon, he served in parishes in the Midlands and the North of England before becoming parish development officer and canon theologian for the Diocese of Wakefield, working with parishes to rethink and redesign their buildings as part of mission strategy.

His particular expertise in the design of liturgical space bore fruit in the publication of Re-Pitching the Tent, now in its third edition, Creating Uncommon Worship (2004) and Times and Seasons (2008). Other titles include Mark my Word, daily meditations on Marks’ Gospel, How to be an Anglican, a light-hearted introduction to Anglican belief and practice, and Here I Am, reflections on the ordained life, all from Canterbury Press.

From 1999 to 2008 he was Dean of Philadelphia Cathedral in the Diocese of Pennsylvania, USA, where he oversaw the radical renovation of the cathedral to become a place of transformative worship, adventurous faith, and unconditional hospitality. In 2008 he became a Visiting Fellow of St John’s College, Durham, and now lives in Tynemouth..

Dr Robin Greenwood

The Rev Canon Dr Robin Greenwood

Robin Greenwood is Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Monkseaton, (Newcastle) and is a Canon Emeritus of Chelmsford Cathedral. He has served in the ordained ministry of the Church of England since 1970 – in parishes, cathedrals, and diocesan and provincial educational roles in the UK.

As a practical theologian, Robin has intentionally interwoven theological, experiential and strategic insights within the areas of mission, ministry and spirituality. In particular he has researched and practised renewed pattern of priesthood that can release the energy for mission of the whole people of God. The development of local ministry development teams as a focus for emerging patterns of missional churches is also an area in which he has given focussed attention.

He has taught on the Doctor of Ministry programme at University of Wales, Lampeter and regularly contributes to diocesan training programmes. Robin has also contributed to learning events in Australia, Kenya, New York, New Zealand, San Francisco and Sweden. He has been a Co-Director of the Edward King Institute for Ministerial Development. Currently he is a Board Member of Lindisfarne (Regional Training Partnership), acts as a Bishops’ Advisory Panel member and as part of the Church of England’s Quality Assurance and Enhancement in Ministerial Education processes for Colleges and Courses.

Robin is married to Claire, also a priest in Newcastle Diocese. They have three adult children

His published writings include:
Transforming Priesthood : A New Theology of Mission and Ministry, SPCK, 1994
Transforming Church: Liberating Structures for Ministry, SPCK 2002
Power, SPCK 2005
Local Ministry: Story, Process and Meaning, SPCK, 2006
Parish Priests: For the Sake of the Kingdom, SPCK, 2009

Dr Jamie Harrison

Dr Jamie Harrison

Jamie is a local General Practitioner and Research Fellow in Healthcare and Religion at St John’s College, Durham. He recently retired from his post as Deputy Director of the Postgraduate School of Primary Care in the NE, in order to further develop his interest in healthcare and the church, taking up a Leech Fellowship in Applied Christian Theology. Among many Church roles, Jamie is a Lay Member of the Church of England General Synod, Lay Chair, Durham Diocesan Synod, and was a Member of the General Synod Working Party on an Occupational Health Scheme for Clergy. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of GPs

Related links: Perceptions of healing.PDF format

Revd Dr Sarah St Leger Hills

Sarah was born in South Africa, brought up in Northern Ireland, and has lived in Sheffield since the mid 1980’s. She qualified in medicine and worked as a psychiatrist, specialising in psychotherapy. She trained for ordination on the Northern Ordination Course. She was ordained in 2007, and is curate at Holy Trinity Church, Millhouses, Sheffield. She holds an MA in Theology and Pastoral Studies, which focussed on the theology and psychology of reconciliation in South Africa, and is about to undertake doctoral studies in this field.
Her research interests also include healing in terms of the crossover between theology and medicine; and the role of supervision for clergy.
She is Pastoral Care Advisor to the Yorkshire Ministry Course, and serves on a Diocesan mental health working group. She is Chaplain to the RSCM Easter Courses for choristers. She is a researcher for St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, on an apartheid memory project; and is Advisor to the Foundation for Church-Led Restitution.
Sarah is married to Richard, a GP, and they have two sons, who are choristers, sailors, and surfers..so family life is busy! Fortunately she shares these interests, and is enlivened both physically and spiritually by swimming in the sea (no matter what the temperature!)

David Kennedy

Canon David Kennedy

Canon David Kennedy is Vice-Dean and Precentor of Durham Cathedral. He read Theology at St John’s College, Durham, trained for the ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham, and after curacies in Spennymoor and Kirk Merrington taught Liturgy and Spirituality for 9 years at The Queen's College, Birmingham. He returned to the North East in 1996 as Rector of Haughton-le-Skerne in Darlington and was appointed to the Cathedral as a Residentiary Canon in 2001.

He is a member of the Church of England Liturgical Commission, Chair of PRAXIS and Chair of Durham Diocesan Liturgical Committee. He also undertakes teaching in the Department of Theology and Religion, Cranmer Hall & the Wesley Studies Centre and the Durham Reader Training Course.

Recent publications include:

Using Common Worship Times and Seasons: All Saints’ to Candlemas (CHP, 2006);
Using Common Worship Times and Seasons: Lent to Embertide (CHP, 2008) and
Eucharistic Sacramentality in an Ecumenical Context: The Anglican Epiclesis (Ashgate, 2008).

He is married to Janet and they have 3 children.

Jonathan Ruffer

‘Jonathan Ruffer left Cambridge in 1972 to become a stockbroker. He trained as a barrister, and worked in the Corporate Finance Department of Schroders. In 1980 he returned to investment, first with Dunbar; on its takeover by Allied Hambro, together with Micky Ingall, they set up a new business which became Rathbones, following a merger with the Liverpool company of that name. In 1994 he left to set up Ruffer Investment Management Limited, which took partnership status as Ruffer LLP in 2004.

In his spare time, he is Churchwarden of St Peter’s Church, Ugley, and is a speaker both on the rubber-chicken circuit, and on Christian topics. He collects Old Master pictures (nineteenth century saints, and eighteenth century landscapes, on the basis that it’s easy to tell them apart).

He has written two books, The Big Shots (1977), about rich people behaving badly in the Victoria countryside, and Babel, the Breaking of the Banks (2009), a chronicle of rich people behaving badly before and during the credit crunch.

He is married with a wife (a doctor) and one (rather pretty) daughter. Outside work, sometimes he sits and thinks; sometimes he just sits.’

Dr Gavin Wakefield

Revd Dr Gavin Wakefield

Gavin Wakefield has been Director of Training, Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of York since 2009 where he leads the Training Team, and promoting leadership development and support for pioneer ministry in the Diocese.

He read Mathematics at Durham and was converted during that time. Following a period teaching Mathematics he trained for ordination at St John's College, Nottingham, and served his curacy in the Diocese of Sheffield. He was then involved in church planting in a South Yorkshire former mining community, before becoming an incumbent in Essex. While there he undertook his PhD research with Robin Gill on what motivated people to join church plants.

In 1998 he was appointed Director of Mission and Pastoral Studies in Cranmer Hall, and later became Deputy Warden and Director of the MA in Theology and Ministry. His research interests include conversion, church planting, and local studies of mission in the north east. His publications include editing a collection of Bible studies on evangelism written by Cranmer colleagues Sharing Faith: Biblical Reflections for Today (BRF, 2004), and a short accessible study of conversion, in Conversion Today (Grove Evangelism Series, 2006). His interest in local studies resulted in a ground-breaking biography of the originator of the Pentecostal Movement in the UK, in Alexander Boddy: Pentecostal Anglican Pioneer (Paternoster Press, 2007). He took this interest in another direction in his pilgrimage book for the north east, Holy People, Holy Places (Lion Hudson, 2008).

He continues to teach, research and examine in various aspects of missiology and the early Pentecostal movement.

He is married to Fran and they have three daughters.