PRINCIPAL’S WELCOME
Welcome. It has in many ways been the best of years, and the worst of years! In September 2023 we transitioned smoothly to our new relationship with the University of Oxford, and this has proved to be a great success: we continue to play a full part in the Faculty of Theology, having four candidates this year who took the Oxford BA course and two the MTh course. We are also still able to use the Common Award, validated by Durham University, and we have expanded our work here through the Edward King Centre for Pastoral Studies and the Institute of Sacred Music at Oxford. But it would not be candid if I did not address the biggest challenge facing the college and indeed all theological education institutions: the 40% drop in ordinand numbers over the past five years. This is not simply candidates for residential training, although again fewer than 20% of those now recommended for training are under 32, who are most likely to come to college rather than a course. It is across the board, and it is showing very little sign of improving. We are used to ‘running small’, unlike some other colleges, with all the financial challenges this brings. But we need the support and encouragement of old members more than ever, to nurture vocations in parishes and schools and universities, and to point them in our direction.
Where are they now? (p21)
Dr Ian Boxall: Senior Tutor
Mthr Lucy Gardner: Tutor
Championing chaplains (p11)
NEWS
The College is pleased to announce that, as patron, it presented the Revd Martha Weatherill (SSH 2015–17) to be the new vicar of the parish of Cowley St John in Oxford. Mthr Martha was instituted and inducted as vicar on 3rd September 2024, having previously been priest-in-charge of Lavant and Rural Dean of Chichester.
An SSH team competed in the 23/24 Oxford ‘Choir Football’ league – despite not making it out of the group stages (pipped in a play-off by Magdalen!), a good time was had by all.
Congratulations to…
Tara Paxman (SSH 2015) on her wedding to Jordan Jakeman, which took place in York on 3rd August 2024.
The College has been presented with this beautiful icon of St Alban, the gift of Fr Oleksandr Nosenko, a PhD student resident at the House, and the work of Dr Serhiy Horban, Dean of icon painting at the Poltava Orthodox Seminary, Ukraine.
The Staggers rugby team 2023–24.
A photo of the College church as it was in 1978, as the home of the Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE).
• We welcomed Canon Isaac Ihiasota from St Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Niagara Falls, to the College in late 2023. Great work is being done through his charity, Nigeria Medical Mission www.fatherisaac.org.
• SSH alumnus John Blakesley’s (SSH 1972–74) book With Angels and Archangels: Bible, Poetry, Liturgy, and Devotion in the Middle Ages is now out, published by Gracewing.
The College has been gifted a beautiful, illustrated manuscript which was the work of two 1930s SSH ordinands: Tom Johnstone, top left, wrote the manuscript, and William Eustace Hand, top right, who illustrated it. With thanks to William’s daughters, Lady Veronica Bruce-Gardner and Patricia Stoddart.
SJE Arts update
SJE Arts continues to flourish with a full calendar of concerts for the 2024/2025 season. Some are SJE Arts promotions – The Sixteen’s wonderful Christmas concert and SJE Arts International Piano Series – but the majority are put on by external groups. Orchestra of St John’s continues with their brilliant residency; Oxford International Song Festival brings four concerts; Music at Oxford, Commotio, East Oxford Community Choir and May Music Festival make regular use of the venue. We’re also developing relations with some smaller pop promoters, their singersongwriters appreciating the atmosphere and crystal acoustic of St John the Evangelist.
SJE Arts Piano Series is in its 12th year! Performers include renowned French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard performing Bach, Angela Hewitt celebrating the Baroque, Steven Osborne daring to mix Schubert with jazz, and Alexander Gavrylyuk and Paul Lewis both making their debut SJE Arts appearances. Members of the College are always welcome!
From the shelves… the College librarian makes a recommendation
“As well as being holders and transmitters of text, books are physical objects, with a history of their own. Amongst the things that add to their interest are binding, illustration, association, and provenance. One of the oldest books in the House Library, a Missal by the sixteenth-century scholar Jacob Pamelius, published in Cologne in 1609, exhibits all of these. Two quarto volumes (a sheet of paper is printed with
People News
Congratulations to the Very Revd Mark Oakley (SSH 1990-93) on his installation as Dean of Southwark (in late 2023). He joins Canon Michael Rawson (SSH 1986-9) on the Chapter of the Cathedral.
Congratulations to The Revd Professor Andrew Davison (sometime SSH Doctrine Tutor), who has been appointed as the new Canon and Regius Professor of Divinity at Christ Church, Oxford. The Regius Professorship of Divinity, established by Henry VIII, is one of the oldest professorships at Oxford.
four pages on each side, then folded twice), they are bound in beautifully aged, semitranslucent stiff vellum (calfskin), and feature lovely woodcut initials at the start of sections. Pembroke’s copy belonged to John Donne, who signed the bottom of the title page of each volume; ours is signed “E.T. Gibbons Ch. Ch. Oxon 1875” on the front pastedowns. Gibbons was a clergyman and Student of Christ Church, who died in Madeira in 1876, aged just twenty-six, so the books were in his possession for only a year. How they came to the House is a mystery I am still to investigate.”
Congratulations to The Revd Gerwyn Capon (SSH 2001) on his appointment as the new Archdeacon of Montgomery.
Congratulations to John Booth, trustee and benefactor of the college, on his appointment as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
The College said goodbye to Bursar Nick French this summer and welcomed Zdenka Miseje to the role. Zdenka was previously the Rooms Division Manager for the Keble College Parks Road site and H B Allen Centre.
Rachel Makari-Brewin has, after 10 years as Development Director at St Stephen’s House, made the decision to move on from her role to return to her career in freelance consultancy. The College thanks her for the transformative work she has undertaken whilst in post.
The College was sad to learn of the death of Revd Jeremy Charles Dowding (SSH 1989).
REMEMBERING JAMES WHITBOURN
Of all the recent non-resident senior members of St Stephen’s House, James Whitbourn’s external work was perhaps the most obviously public-facing. His professional activities included contributions to significant national events, including the funerals of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; he also acted as producer for the world-famous carol services from King’s College, Cambridge.
All this built on a career in broadcasting that began when James joined the BBC after graduating from Magdalen College; he went on to work for the corporation not only as a producer but as a presenter, composer, and conductor. His output was prodigious; The Observer called him “a truly original communicator in modern British choral music”. Six discs of his choral music survive him.
The last of these, Annelies, contains his longest work: a musical imagining of the diaries of Anne Frank. His major output was for singers, and his close relationship with King’s College was reflected in his Collegium Regale setting of the Evening Canticles. There was orchestral music as well: Pika perhaps stands out: a reflection in music of the bombing of Hiroshima. For St Stephen’s House he composed a choral setting of the college grace.
James’s work as a musician took him all over the world, and he regularly directed choral workshops in the United States. He forged particular links with Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, and was instrumental in bringing students to residential courses in Oxford. Over the years his conducting engagements included the BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields; he was nominated for a GRAMMY four times.
A particular interest in the music of Egypt – he arranged and recorded several traditional Egyptian songs for orchestra and voice –led to a performance of his work at the Temple of Luxor on the banks of the Nile. Nearer home, he was involved with BBC Radio 4’s Prayer for the Day, was editor of Radio 3’s weekly service of Choral Evensong from 1990 to 2001; he also worked in close association with the Royal Opera House.
In later years St Stephen’s House provided a means for James to return to the University of Oxford: he was a Research Fellow from 2011 until his death. He quickly became a regular feature of college life; despite his distinguished background he refrained from interfering with the work of the house musicians. He was the first director of the college’s Institute of Sacred Music (ISMO), and gave generously of his time in the wider university.
A member of the Faculty of Music, James was also Director of Music at both St Edmund Hall and Harris Manchester College. Undoubtedly a man of faith, he was nevertheless suspicious of organised religion and was a particular champion of the independent students – those not preparing for ordination. He died of cancer on 12 March, at the age of 60; he is survived by his wife, Alison, and their children. Jesu mercy, Mary pray.
By Serenhedd James
A PARISIAN SUMMER PLACEMENT
Oliver Baldwin grew up in north-west Kent and came to faith at university, studying History and French at Magdalen College, Oxford. Following graduation, he spent two years gaining practical ministry experience as a Pastoral Assistant at St Benet Fink, Tottenham, and one year ‘in the real world’ at a tutoring company, while pursuing the discernment process for ordination. His interests remain historical, literary, and linguistic, with a growing interest in ecumenism.
Just a few steps from the Arc de Triomphe, St George’s Anglican Church has been a presence in Paris for two centuries and boasts a history of Christian witness and parochial goings-on to match the storied history of the French capital itself.
As the City of Light has been convulsed by revolution and restoration from kingdom to republic to empire to republic again, and two world wars, St George’s has moved from the British ambassador’s ballroom to a succession of temporary chapels, to a Norman revival church, to its present situation in the basement of a block of flats.
Hidden on a backstreet and buried underground, St George’s is a true gem of a church and has given me much food for thought as I ponder the second of Fr Robin’s three fundamental questions*: ‘what is the Church?’
It has been a delight to return to Paris, having spent my year abroad here during my undergraduate degree. In those days I attended the more conventionally church-shaped American Cathedral round the corner.
However, just as medieval churches were designed to draw people inside where the true majesty of the light flooding through the stained glass could be appreciated, the stairs of St George’s draw one down into a surprisingly imposing, deeply atmospheric sacred space. The
true meaning of the versicle ‘How dreadful is this place’ becomes clear: ‘How awesome is this place. This is none other than God’s house’. As one parishioner put it: ‘the sense of contemplation is tangible.’ The surprising building reflects the surprises in the congregation, whose prayers have soaked into the striking brickwork.
I had expected a community of British expats. Instead, I have encountered a multinational and multilingual church family. I was honestly not expecting to have to use my French quite so much! In fact, the English-speaking congregation which gathers every Sunday morning has a high proportion of Francophones who have found their way into Anglicanism in one way or another. And then there’s the congregation from Madagascar which meets every other Sunday afternoon.
Getting to know a community of Anglicans who worship in Malagasy and French has been fascinating as I have struggled through Malagasy words to tunes familiar from the English Hymnal and been introduced to the French translations of classic Anglican prayers from the Book of Common Prayer. As Anglo-Catholics rightly aware of and concerned about the universality of the Church, we can sometimes forget about the universality of Anglicanism itself.
As I attempted to follow the Mass in Malagasy, I found myself wondering what going to Mass in Latin must be like. How much do I need to understand of the words being spoken for the liturgy to ‘make sense’? As Anglicans, how important for our worship is English as a language? No matter the language or the culture, however, the fundamentals of parish ministry everywhere are precisely that –fundamental. Preaching in French was certainly a novel and exotic experience, and yet the questions remain the same: what does God want to say to his people through these readings, and how can I not get in the way of that?
Inevitably perhaps, the sort of people who move to Paris are more adventurous than most, but the ordinary pastoral task of taking Holy Communion to a housebound parishioner in the fairly out-ofthe-ordinary environs of an elegant Paris suburb suddenly pales in comparison with the extraordinary wonder of meeting Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as the pyx is opened. Likewise, it’s not every parish church that will celebrate its bicentenary with a reception at the Ambassador’s residence and a lecture by a world-famous historian (Diarmaid MacCulloch), but every church has its part to play in the public life of its community. This is something I became particularly aware of as I tried (in French) to convince bookshops to take leaflets and posters for the upcoming book-launch, with varied success!
The normal pastoral round is rooted here, as it is at St Stephen’s House, in the daily rhythm of daily Office and daily Mass. The practice of including a different European chaplaincy from the diocesan prayer list in the intercessions each day has made me reflect on just how vast this diocese is. While Paris is easily accessible from London, I have been thinking about the potential isolation many chaplains and their flocks face, including of course the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its impact on the church in Kyiv. For Anglicans abroad, a chaplaincy provides a home, a safe haven, and a base from which to make friends and build a life in new surroundings.
This is and should be more obviously the case for any church, and the Church as a whole. Rooted in the constants of the faith: the sacraments, especially the Mass; the Bible; the life of prayer; and the practical experience of loving one’s neighbour and being loved by them which a church community affords. All of these give us a place to call home as ‘Christ’s sheep that are dispersed abroad… in the midst of this naughty world’.
*For those wondering, the other two are: Who is Jesus Christ? and, what is a priest?
A FAMILY’S LEGACY OF FAITH
De
The Rio Pongas Mission was an influential Christian mission established in the mid-19th century in West Africa and staffed primarily by West Indian missionaries, many of whom were graduates of Codrington College in Barbados. Information and documents associated with the mission offer insights into British colonialism in West Africa at the time, the slave trade, and the conversion of people to Christianity in the region. This is a remarkable story of a family’s legacy, a passion for education and faith, spanning Grenada in the Caribbean, Guinea and Sierra Leone in West Africa, and Oxford and London in England.
Key people
Archdeacon John Baptiste McEwen (?–1901)
De Jean Sigismund McEwen (1883–1953)
Dejean Baptiste McEwen (1922–2005)
Marcel McEwen (1957–)
Imani McEwen (1996–)
McEwen (1956–)
Namdi McEwen (1990–)
Dejean McEwen (1950–)
Desiree (1955–)
Lettie-Ann (1953–)
Canon
Jean Sigismund McEwen’s entry in the 1930 edition of Crockford’s Clerical Dictionary
Author Imani McEwen
De Jean Sigismund McEwen at St Stephen’s House in 1904
Yvonne
Key dates
Îles de Los, Guinea
1850 The West Indian Mission to West Africa is established.
1871 Archdeacon John Baptiste McEwen joins the Mission.
Archdeacon John Baptiste McEwen, my great, great grandfather, was an African-descended West Indian from Grenada. He joined the Rio Pongas Mission in December 1871 and was a graduate of Codrington College, Barbados, as well as holding a Durham University Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology. Ordained deacon in Barbados in 1869, he was stationed at St. Vincent, and later in Trinidad, as a licensed reader.
McEwen’s arrival at the Mission marked a significant turning point in its history. His education and experience made him a valuable asset to the team, and he quickly became a respected leader among the missionaries.
The influence of those involved extended beyond religious matters. In 1880, for example, both Philip Henry Douglin and John Baptiste McEwen witnessed the manumission document of John Ormond’s slave, Eliza Thomas, highlighting the Mission’s commitment to social justice and the abolition of slavery.
There were numerous challenges faced along the way. One of the most significant hurdles was the lack of boarding schools for training local clergy. In 1873, the missionaries, including McEwen, appealed directly to supporters in Barbados and England for funds to establish such schools. They argued that boarding schools were essential to train future schoolmasters, catechists, and even ministers for the nascent African Church. A boy’s boarding school was founded on the Island of Kassa, Iles de Los.
1873 Missionaries appeal for funds to establish boarding schools for training local clergy.
1880 McEwen witnesses the manumission document of an enslaved woman.
1899 McEwen establishes a new mission station in Conakry, French Guinea.
1900 All Saints Church in Conakry is opened.
1901 McEwen dies after serving the Mission for over 30 years.
1904 De Jean Sigismund McEwen, son of John Baptiste McEwen, graduates from St Stephen’s House, Oxford.
1904 De Jean Sigismund McEwen joins the Mission.
1929 The now-Canon McEwen takes charge of the Conakry station.
1943 McEwen becomes the second Archdeacon of the Pongas region.
1941 Colonial authorities in Conakry accuse the Mission of espionage and arrest the missionaries.
In 1899, Archdeacon McEwen, by then a senior missionary with over 27 years’ service, made a strategic decision crucial to the Mission’s survival, proposing the opening of a new base in Conakry in French Guinea, situated opposite the Iles de Los.
The funds available for the Mission from West Indian sources had greatly diminished, and it seemed that the Mission’s days on the Iles de Los were numbered. McEwen had tried to appeal to a Committee to fund the mission’s move to Conakry, but they had turned a deaf ear. McEwen settled in Conakry himself in January 1899 and, demonstrating remarkable initiative, made a vigorous attempt to raise the
necessary sum for a new church. The traders and settlers in this rapidly increasing centre readily responded, and he raised £300 (about the equivalent today of £32,000) locally to build a solid stone house there.
This marked the beginning of a new chapter for the Mission, replacing Fotoba as its headquarters. The laying of the foundation stone for a church in Conakry took place on April 4th 1899, and All Saints Church was officially opened on January 4th 1900.
Sadly, McEwen was not to see much of its future as he tragically passed away due to Malaria on 7th June 1901 having dedicated over thirty years of his life to the Mission.
The legacy continues
Despite McEwen’s untimely death, his legacy lives on. All Saints Church flourished, becoming a spiritual home for hundreds of people, including Europeans, Mendes, Susus, and Sierra Leoneans.
Furthermore, John Baptiste McEwen’s legacy extended beyond his own involvement. His son, De Jean Sigismund McEwen, also served as a missionary in the Rio Pongas region from 1904, following in his father’s footsteps. One of the first black students to attend St Stephen’s House, Oxford, De Jean Sigismund obtained a BA (Oxford) and was ordained in 1904 aged 21 or 22. He had previously studied at St Boniface College, Warminster (formerly St Boniface Missionary College).
The Mission was perhaps most influential in the area of education as a number of key local personnel were trained at the boarding school at the Isles de Los that Revd Farquhar became the Principal of. Many boarding school pupils later became leaders of key educational institutions in Guinea.
The Rio Pongas Mission was key to the advancement of Christianity within Africa through the contribution of the schools that it established and their impact on nation-building. It remained part of the diocese of Sierra Leone until 1935 when political tensions with France led to the
A personal touch: McEwen’s Oxford gown
De Jean Sigismund McEwen’s son, Dejean Baptiste McEwen, migrated to Freetown Sierra Leone and used to keep his father’s Oxford gown and degree in a locked chest, often dusting them. This treasured possession symbolised his father’s achievements and the educational opportunities he had been afforded at St Stephen’s House, Oxford. When Revd Dejean died, he was laid out in his Oxford Gown for people to view the body, before it was removed for his burial.
Unfortunately, during the civil war in Sierra Leone during the 1990s, McEwen’s prized possessions were destroyed as rebels descended on the capital city of Freetown, looting, destroying or burning the contents of houses and leaving a tangible reminder of the turmoil and loss experienced by many during that time.
Dejean Baptiste McEwen, born in Fotoba, Guinea moved to Sierra Leone and had four children: Lettie remained in Freetown, Desiree emigrated to America and Dejean and Marcel emigrated to England.
Dejean’s granddaughter is the author of this piece, Imani McEwen. Imani read Modern and Medieval Languages, Spanish and French at Clare College, Cambridge and now works for the Diocese of Southwark as Children and Youth Mission Support Officer, continuing the family tradition that began over 150 years ago.
He rose through the ranks of the Mission, eventually becoming the second Archdeacon of the Pongas region. His dedication and leadership were instrumental in ensuring the Mission’s continued success.
The work of the Rio Pongas Mission continued, but not without adversity. Notably in 1941, colonial authorities in Conakry falsely accused the Mission of espionage, a stark reminder of the adversity they faced.
Mission being linked with the Diocese of Gambia and Guinea under John Daly.
At some point in the 1920s, Revd De Jean Sigismund McEwen was appointed an Honorary Canon in St. George’s Cathedral, Sierra Leone.
The Rio Pongas Mission’s story is a testament to the enduring power of faith, dedication, and service. Despite facing numerous challenges, the Mission’s legacy lives on, inspiring generations to come to have a deep-rooted faith that can withstand the challenges of life.
CHAMPIONING CHAPLAINS
Often referred to as a ‘vocation within a vocation’, there are an estimated 10,000 chaplains of different faiths serving across the UK in places such as schools, colleges, hospitals, hospices, prisons as well as with the police and armed forces.
Offering pastoral, spiritual and religious care to people of all walks of life regardless of belief or status, chaplains play an often vital role in supporting people at their most vulnerable moments.
Chaplaincy ministry is the chosen pathway for a number of SSH alumni, and here we meet three former students whose vocations have led them in this direction.
Mthr Monika conducting a baptism for two premature twins in hospital
Rebecca pictured with volunteers from the Low Newton branch of the Mothers Union – the only prison branch in the Church of England
MONIKA
The
Revd Monika Doering Hospital Chaplain
Children’s Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH)
SSH studies: The Common Awards BA in Theology, Ministry and Mission, 2015–2017
We are a large team here at NUH, in total 17 chaplains (plus 10 bank chaplains) from different faiths, and I am one of two who focuses on the Children’s Hospital.
I started working as a chaplain over three years ago. My curacy in the Diocese of Leeds had involved a three-month placement, and I chose to do it at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust. Very soon after starting in Nottingham, it just felt as if things had clicked for me; it felt as if I was exactly where I should be.
I was a nurse before I trained for ordination and trained across a variety of areas of medicine – oncology, maternity, paediatrics – in Germany and the UK, (I grew up in Romania), so in many ways, hospital chaplaincy is a very natural place for me to have found myself.
As with many forms of ministry, chaplaincy work can be hard, and supporting people in grief and following bereavement is one of our many tasks. We all take our share of nights being on call, covering two large hospitals in Nottingham. This Saturday I had two call outs, the first to the neonatal unit at about 11 pm where a baby (born at 23 weeks) was deteriorating quickly. The parents wanted me to conduct a Naming and Blessing service. The next day when I followed up my night visit, their baby had sadly died. The second call out of the night was at 2.30am to support about a dozen family members of an elderly lady who had died. I conducted the Service of Anointing, especially supporting her young grandson who for the first time had encountered death.
In the course of my ‘normal’ day-to-day work, two days are never the same. We visit paediatric and neo natal intensive care units and other children’s wards, caring for patients with all kinds of conditions. Some people we see once, and others we see over many years – for example the hospital is a significant centre for dialysis, so some children
come 3–4 times a week or more, often travelling long distances to get here. You build up a relationship with the children and their families. Then of course we also care for the large numbers of staff who work here [there are around 19,000 staff employed by the NHS Trust], many of whom work very antisocial hours. When I enter the hospital at night, it’s like another world where so many different staff are hard at work.
The fact that I can speak different languages [German, Romanian, Hungarian and English] has been helpful in this role – Nottingham has a large Romanian population and it’s so much easier to relate speaking someone’s mother tongue. (As an aside related to this, it’s interesting to note that the German word for chaplain is ‘soul carer’ (Seelsorger/in)).
I also think being a woman brings something to this area of chaplaincy. Sadly, we encounter baby loss all too frequently, and as a woman I think that I bring a deep understanding to those I support here. Being able to relate to people in real distress and showing them compassion, meeting them wherever they are, all of these things are vital.
Unlike other staff, chaplains have the privilege of following people through their entire hospital journey as they move to different wards or parts of the hospital. We care for some patients for many months, and it is incredible to see how children can recover from really awful illnesses and situations.
I don’t think I could be a paediatric chaplain if I didn’t feel a genuine calling to work here. I also have an amazing team, including a great lead chaplain and colleagues who are very wise and supportive. We share experiences a lot, which is particularly helpful in order to emotionally discharge, and we are also afforded time – about 20 per cent of our working time – for our own self-development, which is hugely beneficial. The remaining 80 per cent is divided approximately 50:50 between being with patients or staff and documenting and administrative work.
SSH is one of the many precious threads that have come together to form me, and I always felt very well supported at the House, particularly academically. I’ve continued my academic studies since leaving – completing during my curacy the Common Awards MA (with my dissertation on Children’s Spirituality), and I’m currently working towards a Post-Graduate Certificate in Paediatric Chaplaincy (the only one of its kind in the UK) at Birmingham Newman University in conjunction with Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
MATT
The Revd Matt Austen School Chaplain
Christ’s Hospital School, Horsham, West Sussex
SSH studies: The Common Awards in Theology, Ministry and Mission, 2018–2020
The academic staff at St Stephen’s House often talked about incarnational ministry – Christ being present and walking amongst us, and that aspect of chaplaincy really appealed to me. I loved parish ministry and thoroughly enjoyed my three year curacy in Brentwood, Essex, but I wanted to do something a bit different.
Here at Christ’s Hospital, I am the school chaplain but also a priest with an opportunity to influence people’s morality and conscience. In a world that is essentially post-Christian, I am afforded the opportunity to preach to a thousand teenagers twice a week, and to try and be an authentic Christian voice, whilst walking alongside people from all sorts of different backgrounds and beliefs, in the good times and the bad.
The school is an independent boarding school which was founded in 1552, and it is the largest bursary charity in the UK – 80% of our pupils are on bursaries so it’s incredibly diverse as a community. In many ways it’s quite a quirky school – for example the school marching band accompanies the entire school as they march into lunch 4 times a week - which is pretty spectacular to watch!
My role is very varied, but my principal responsibility is to pray and look after those in my care, and to enable their spiritual growth. It’s a large community – there are 900 students and 150 teaching staff, all of whom live on site. I work closely with the safeguarding and welfare team – it’s a very flat structure which is great, and I interact with everyone, from student to head.
Some of our children come from challenging or complex family backgrounds and we encounter lots of issues – as many schools do, so in terms of chaplaincy provision, yes I perform the priestly functions of Mass etc, but a lot of my focus is also on providing pastoral care and focusing on Christian morality. It is about getting the kids to think in a way they don’t when they are on TikTok! For example, I lead sessions around ‘What is good in a feel good world?’ – i.e., where
should we really be putting our time effort and emotions? And around the importance of silence and developing an interior life. I am also the lead for bereavement and bereavement care throughout the entire community.
I undertake a lot of outreach work – developing our relationships with other organisations to raise awareness of the school’s bursary programme and encourage students to consider applying, or people to present candidates.
The discipline I had instilled in me at Staggers has really helped me in my role here; having structure and discipline is vital in a chaplaincy work. I learnt some of that in the army but probably more so at SSH. Staggers also gave me a really strong grounding in doctrine and Christology, which has helped me to confidently answer difficult theological questions and issues – Staggers shaped me in a way that I rely on every day and I often recall lectures from Fr Robin [Ward], Fr Akma [Adam] and Mother Lucy [Gardner].
I very much feel that God has called me here – I love it. Things can be extremely full on in term time – I work a seven day week in three week blocks – but my family and I live on site which helps. I often think it’s not dissimilar to my time in the military before my ordination training – the submarine goes down for three weeks, and then I come back up for air! It’s a fun place to be, and everyone really buys into the mission.
“…having structure and discipline is vital in a chaplaincy work. I learnt some of that in the army but probably more so at SSH…”
The kids arrive in year 7 (‘Second Form’) and they leave with such skills and confidence in Upper 6th (‘Grecians’) – Christ’s Hospital is unique in so many ways, but chiefly in which it truly changes people’s lives, and I’d like to think I play a small part in that transformation.
For more information on Christ’s Hospital School, see the Fact File article on page 20.
REBECCA
The Revd Rebecca Feeney Prison Chaplain (Anglican)
HMP and Young Offender’s Institute, Low Newton, County Durham
SSH studies: Theology BA, 2015–2018
Following my three years at Staggers, I served my curacy in Wigan, later moving to a parish in Chorley. It was there that my Bishop asked me if I had ever considered becoming a chaplain as he felt I would be a good fit. I did a few taster days in a prison nearby and loved it. I had previously volunteered with women’s crisis shelters and homelessness projects and I think that experience made it feel like a natural move.
The prison that I work in is a women’s closed prison near Durham. There are around 250 prisoners in total, and they are here for a wide variety of different reasons, ranging from those on local remand before their trial begins to others who are serving life sentences for very serious crimes.
It may sound strange, but I didn’t feel any apprehension before taking on this role. In the parish, or simply out and about, you are as much at risk as anyone else of common assault or dangerous situations; by contrast, despite how prisons are often presented, I have never been in a position where I have felt unsafe. There is a lot of care and attention taken to ensure that prisoners and staff have the safety and support they need, especially where one might feel vulnerable.
I am one of three full time chaplains at the prison, and we are cared for by a managing chaplain (who can be of any denomination). Chaplains of various faiths or denominations work part-time or are brought in as volunteers depending on the needs of the prison. I care for the Church of England prisoners, but as a team we care for everyone unless it is a very faith-specific need. We are a very cohesive unit and work well together – differences in faith are simply not an issue, we are all very secure in our own beliefs.
Typically, those we minister to see the chaplains as a good thing –supportive and non-judgemental. We have far less to do with security side of things, so the prisoners engage with us very differently. Quiet chats over cups of tea are a big part of the day-to-day, with staff and prisoners alike. Christ-like compassion is essential. We are all subject to the same human error, sin and difficulty as everyone else, and any one
of us could find ourselves on the wrong side of the law if our situations were to change, or as a result of a poor decision. It is my experience that most people here receive sentences for behaviours that, while ultimately harmful, have helped them survive punishing circumstances. No child wakes up in the morning aspiring to a life that leads to prison, and it is rare to meet someone here who doesn’t describe having experienced abuse or some form of traumatic deprivation. There is so much pain. Emotional and practical support, encouragement and understanding are vital if recovery and pattern-breaking are to be possible – and even if those things don’t happen, it is part of showing the love of God to his children without prejudice or expectation, no matter what might have happened.
There are different demographics of prisoner that we see at different frequencies – for example prisoners who are vulnerable in certain ways might have requirements for visits very frequently, even every day, so we get to know them well. There are also statutory worship requirements to support people practising their faith, and we generally see worshippers of different denominations and faiths around once a week when they come by for their groups.
As the Anglican chaplain I have a lot of people on my books so to speak, so my days are busy. I share Sunday morning responsibilities with the other Christian chaplains, and it can be quite boisterous! We get a reasonably-sized congregation; those who attend often have strong opinions on whether I’ve put the service together well, and they aren’t afraid to share these views. You have to have a thick skin! And it helps to take things with good humour.
Of course, many we visit choose not to engage with chaplaincy at all, and that is fine. I was taught years ago while volunteering in an acute mental health chaplaincy that in institutions and contexts where people have very little personal agency, letting someone reject you is an acknowledgement of their human dignity. This is just as true in a prison, however politely or rudely it might be conveyed…! If Christ can shake the dust off his sandals, then so can I – but the chaplaincy door is always open, and every day is a new day.
One of the things that SSH gave me which has been incredibly useful for my vocation here was a firm doctrinal and spiritual foundation, and a real confidence in what it is I believe about God and the Church. I am secure in my faith and practices, which helps me to engage with other perspectives and beliefs with openness and curiosity – this is invaluable in a multi-faith setting, and also when exploring the difficult questions around suffering, forgiveness and justice that we encounter every day.
THE ERIC MASCALL SCHOLARSHIP
2025 sees the launch of The Eric Mascall Scholarship, an annually-awarded scholarship which aims to support an individual in their chosen area of theological research and/or reflection.
Jointly run by St Stephen’s House, Oxford, and St Mary’s, Bourne Street, London, it aims to honour the life and work of the renowned Anglo-Catholic theologian and priest, Eric Lionel Mascall. Here Fr Christopher Smith, Vicar of St Alban the Martyr, Holborn, (SSH 1992–95), shares his reflections on Mascall’s life.
About the author
Fr Christopher Smith was educated at New College and Saint Stephen’s House, Oxford, and also has a law degree and an LLM in Canon Law. Ordained deacon in 1995, and priest in 1996, he served his title in Wantage, Oxfordshire, later becoming chaplain to the then Bishop of Horsham, then Vicar of St Michael’s Beckenham. He has been Vicar of St Alban’s Holborn since 2011. He was called to the Bar in 2010 and is currently finishing a doctoral thesis on the Christology of Eric Mascall. He was on the General Synod from 2015–2021 and is currently Synodical Secretary for the Province of Canterbury. He has been a Church Commissioner since 2017.
Eric Lionel Mascall was born in 1905 and went to read mathematics at Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1924. He was ordained deacon in 1932 and priest the following year. His main teaching posts were at Christ Church, Oxford, from 1945–62, during which time he took on a university lectureship in the philosophy of religion, and he went from there to King’s College London to take up a Chair (created for him) in Historical Theology. While teaching there, he lived in the Presbytery of St Mary’s, Bourne Street, serving the parish as an unofficial but highly distinguished curate. He was there from 1962–73, becoming Dean of the Theology Faculty in 1968. He was still publishing until 1986, well into his twenty-year retirement; he died in February 1993 (during my first year at Saint Stephen’s House) and John Macquarrie wrote his obituary for the Independent. His conclusion was that ‘As a cleric who combined learning and orthodoxy with rationality, an honest regard for truth with courtesy toward those who differed, and tempered it all with a sense of humour, Mascall may have been the last of a type which the Church of England can ill afford to lose.’
I would venture to say that, at the time of the publication in 1982 of that most important of historical documents relating to the modern Church of England, Not The Church Times, he was (in a manner of speaking) a household name in Anglican circles. And yet when the SCM Dictionary of Christian Theology became the New Dictionary of Christian Theology in 1983, all of Mascall’s thirty entries had been excised. There’s a reason for that, of course, and the Church of England and the Academy should be ashamed of themselves.
Mascall never wavered from his belief, set out in an early work called Death or Dogma, that the purpose of theology is to ‘advance our understanding of the Christian religion’, and that ‘theologizing is a function of [the theologian’s] membership of the Christian Church [which] takes place under the illumination of the Christian religion’. Theology is not, he believed, historical study, literary criticism, archaeology, anthropology, or indeed psychology; what is needed of the theologian, he says, is ‘an intense conviction of the truth and vitality of the Christian religion, a confidence in the relevance of theology to matters outside the academic sphere, and a combination of humility with intellectual integrity’. At the beginning of his time at King’s College, London, he put it thus:
‘As I see it, the task of the Christian theologian is that of theologising within the great historical Christian tradition; theologizandum est in fide. Even when he feels constrained to criticise adversely the contemporary expressions of the tradition, he will be conscious that he is bringing out from the depths of the tradition its latent and hitherto unrecognised contents; he is acting as its organ and its exponent. He will also offer his own contribution for it to digest and assimilate if it can. Like the good householder he will bring out of his treasure things new and old. But he will have no other gospel than that which he has received.’
We might also compare a section in his book Theology and the Gospel of Christ, which he wrote after retiring, in 1977. The section is called, ‘What is Christian Theology?’, and he defines it as ‘an ecclesial activity concerned with the revelation given by God to man through Christ in his Church’.
‘The theologian himself is a member of the Church, baptized into Christ and living by the sacraments. Since grace perfects nature and does not destroy it, whatever natural gifts he has of intelligence and judgement will find ample scope for their operation, but within the climate of faith, hope and charity and as renewed and strengthened by it. And because the world is God’s world, created and renewed by him, theology will have much to say about the world and the way in which man should handle it as God’s vice-gerent. God forbid that theology should be secularized, but there must be a theology of the secular.’
Mascall, I believe, offers us a theological toolkit for dealing with the challenges which remain pressing in the Church of today. We face a complex ecclesial situation in which Western church attendance is (apparently) in freefall, even if it has grown elsewhere. The time is coming when the matter of divisions between ecclesial communities will surely be overshadowed by the importance of unity in the face of unbelief and narcissistic selfishness. I am delighted that there seems to be something of a renewal of interest in Mascall’s theology, and if my banging the drum has contributed to that, I am doubly pleased. His work shines with confidence in the truth of the orthodox Christian Faith, revealed in the human nature taken by the divine Word, and lived out in the Body of Christ. And to receive the Body of Christ within the Body of Christ is not the means by which we cut ourselves off and shore up the cult against outsiders; it is the sacramental expression of the truth that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
NEW COURSE IN CANON LAW AT ST STEPHEN’S HOUSE
Study for the Common Award Postgraduate Certificate in Theology, Ministry and Mission (validated by Durham University) with a canon law specialism via the Edward King Centre.
About the author
Fr Stephen Coleman is Priest-in-Charge of the Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair. Originally from the North East of England, he read Theology as an undergraduate and graduate at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford, before training as a lawyer and practising as a corporate and financing solicitor in the City of London. Following ordination, he initially served in parish ministry in North London.
What is canon law?
Canon law can be broadly defined as the laws, rules and norms which regulate the life of the Church. The Church’s doctrine, liturgy, rites (baptism, marriage, burials, confession etc), ministry (including the ordination and the rights and duties of the clergy), and ecclesiastical property, are all regulated and indeed held together by what we might term canon law or Ecclesiastical Law in the Church of England. English canon law therefore pertains to the entirety of our life as a church; it both protects the Church’s doctrine and, by providing clarity around responsibility, enables its mission.
Fr Stephen is also Assistant Director of the Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University (where he convenes the Church Law History Consortium and the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers), and where he is researching for a PhD on the legal history of the advowson under the supervision of Professor Norman Doe.
He is an Honorary Research Fellow and Visiting Tutor at St Stephen’s House, Oxford, and a trustee of the Ecclesiastical Law Society. He also practices Ecclesiastical Law as a part time solicitor at Birketts LLP.
In the words of the Roman Catholic Canonist Robert Ombres OP, to study canon law is to study ‘applied ecclesiology’. It may not be on message to say this in today’s Church of England, but canon law is at the absolute centre of our life as Church; we ignore it at our peril.
Where is canon law to be found?
Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, where canon law is systemised and much of it is found in the Code of Canon Law 1983, the canon law of the Church of England is found in a diverse myriad of places. It is found in Acts of Parliament (such as the Marriage Act 1949), Measures of the General Synod which have the force and effect of an Act of Parliament (such as the Marriage Measure 2008), the Canons
themselves (which provide much of our laws regarding worship and the occasional offices, clerical life, certain governance structures, and the fixtures and fittings of churches), as well as case law, liturgical rubrics, conventions and more. This is before we deal with aspects of civil law which apply to the church such as laws around data protection, employment, safeguarding, health and safety etc.
The development of the study of canon law in England
Canon law is as old as the Church herself, and it is an ancient discipline. Evidence of the very early regulation of the life of the Church is found in the New Testament epistles and also in the Didache, which dates from the late first/early second century. The Didache contains moral precepts and rules for the conduct of the liturgy as well as rules for church governance. The canon law developed during the reign of the Emperor Constantine (311-337 AD) as the Church became an organ of imperial government and its regulation became more developed, with councils and synods, as well as decretals issued by the Popes as binding decisions handed down in their judicial capacity.
The academic study of canon law, as an intellectual discipline, began in the twelfth century in Bologna. It was at this time that canon law became a system of thought distinct from theology chiefly through the work of the Bolognese law teacher Gratian. This new wave of learning soon reached England and began initially in cathedral towns such as Canterbury, Exeter, Lincoln, Worcester etc. By the 1190s a law
school had been established at Oxford beginning the study of canon law there; Cambridge soon followed suit.
Before the Reformation, there were basically two systems of law in England: the common law and the canon law. Canon law was taught in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the common law was taught in the law schools, the Inns of Court, in the City of London. For centuries canon law was thus central to English legal thought as well as the life of the Church of England.
If you had been a student at Oxford in the fifteenth century you would have been absolutely surrounded by canon lawyers! However, this changed with the Reformation: Thomas Cromwell suppressed the teaching of canon law at Oxford and Cambridge in 1535; judges in the ecclesiastical courts no longer needed to hold a degree in canon law and the suppression of the monasteries removed a further source of learning in this field.
This of course did not mean canon law itself died. It continued to be practised by the Civil Lawyers in Doctors Commons in London, a new set of Canons were published in 1603/4, and great canonical works were produced in the post-Reformation church by canonists such as Bishop Edmund Gibson, and Sir Robert Phillimore. Canon law was also at the centre of so many of the controversies of these centuries such as the ritualist controversies of the nineteenth century with the imprisonment of Arthur Tooth (pictured) and Prayer Book crisis of 1927/8.
But canon law had ceased to be a mainstream degree. Some revival in its interest came with Bishop Eric Kemp and the founding of the Ecclesiastical Law Society in 1987. But the seminal moment came in 1991 when Norman Doe at Cardiff University founded the LLM in Canon Law, the first canon law degree in the United Kingdom since the Reformation. Under Professor Doe’s inspirational and infectious leadership, countless bishops, archdeacons, parish clergy, chancellors, registrars, laity, and interested academics completed the course in the thirty three years until it ended in 2024.
Is the study of canon law relevant today?
Today we are looking at continuing this revival in the study of canon law, not least for the good of the Church. At St Stephen’s House modules in canon law will be available for ordinands and others through the Edward King Centre as part of the Common Awards MA, validated by Durham University. There are also proposals for a new MA in canon law, which we would hope to offer if approved by Durham.
But is there any point in studying canon law? I was ordained just over ten years and when I expressed an interest in studying canon law I was told by a number of people that it was a relic, a thing of the past, and an obstacle to mission. Regrettably this attitude pervaded much of the Church of England, and was certainly a view of many in the hierarchy.
This was until the Covid-19 pandemic, when canon law swiftly seemed to become relevant again. The closure of the churches in the UK by the State was the first time this had happened since the Papal Interdict of 1208 during the reign of King John. But the closure of churches during the first lockdown of 2020 happened before the action of the State by seemingly the instruction of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Did the Archbishop have the lawful authority to stop public worship, and then prevent clergy from entering their churches to say the Office and celebrate the Sacraments? What about the canonical requirement for clergy to enter their churches to lead public worship; could this be dispensed with by the bishop and the archbishop?
There are countless other examples where canon law is becoming relevant again in the life of the church today. The perceived problems with the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003, and the reform of the law in this area with the proposed Clergy Conduct Measure. The proposed Prayers of Love and Faith. The status of the parish church and the incumbent. And so on.
The study of canon law has waxed and waned over the centuries, but its centrality to the life of the Church has never been in doubt. Today the Church more than ever needs clergy and laity not just educated in canon law but passionate about canon law.
It’s an exciting moment as St Stephen’s House becomes the pioneer institution to bring the study of canon law back to Oxford. Please do join us.
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL SCHOOL
To give it its full name, The Religious, Ancient and Royal Foundation of Christ’s Hospital, is an independent boarding and day school for children aged 11–18, and features in our article about the work of chaplains (see pages 11–14).
Location
Horsham, West Sussex
About / history
Christ’s Hospital was founded 1552 as a response to a sermon preached by Bishop Nicholas Ridley (one of the Oxford Martyrs) to the King (Edward VI) and effectively marked the beginning of social services in Tudor England. Large numbers of children who had been studying in monasteries prior to their dissolution during the Reformation had been forcibly evicted, and the school, originally based in the City, was one of three set up to house the poor and destitute. The school was granted the Royal Charter in 1553.
Based in Newgate, London for 350 years, its buildings were rebuilt in the seventeenth century with help from Sir Christopher Wren (a governor of the school) and Nicholas Hawksmoor. In 1902 the school move to its current site in Horsham.
The mission of the school has stayed the same since it was established: to challenge inequality by providing a nurturing, transformative education for young people from all backgrounds. Approximately 80% of its 900 or so pupils enjoy bursary support, and 11% pay no fees at all.
Interesting facts
• Free entry to the Tower of London is granted to any Christ’s Hospital student wearing the school’s famous uniform.
• The school’s yellow and blue uniform has barely changed since Tudor times, with the colours thought to have been chosen at the time because the dyes were inexpensive.
• The school’s name is derived from the parish of Christchurch, London, in which it was founded.
• The school has its own (eponymous) train station
• Famous alumni (‘Old Blues’) include conductor Sir William Glock, trade unionist John Edmonds, aviation engineer Barnes Wallis and comedian Holly Walsh.
How can SSH alumni help?
The school is proactive in its mission to continue to challenge disadvantage through transformative education and is always keen to hear from members of the clergy who may wish to recommend a young person for bursary support. For an informal conversation, please contact Chaplain Fr Matt Austen –mrga@christs-hospital.org.uk or 01403 247414 (direct line).
www.christs-hospital.org.uk
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Name: The Very Revd Chris Dalliston Age: 68
Studies undertaken at SSH: Theology BA (Schools), plus Oxford Certificate in Theology Years at SSH: 1981–1984
Undergraduate degree/other studies: History BA (Peterhouse, Cambridge)
Your current role: The Dean of Peterborough [Ed: Chris is the longest serving Dean in the CofE]
Can you describe a typical day?
As Dean, my role is one of oversight on behalf of our Bishop [The Right Reverend Debbie Sellin]. A cathedral Dean has to steer the course between being the CEO of a large charitable business (with 25 staff, 300 volunteers and a budget of £2m per annum) and being a senior priest, so you have to be both business like and deeply priestly – which is sometimes not an easy balance. Day to day, my role often involves developing connections across different faith communities and civic authorities in the diocese, as well as working to sustain the work of the cathedral financially.
Could you tell us about your time at SSH?
It was a bit of a culture shock when I arrived at SSH after working at Ford motor company, and it was towards the end of David Hope’s time at Principal. He had assembled a remarkable group of tutors – some quite maverick – and it was hugely stimulating both academically and spiritually, with a culture that encouraged a lot of lively conversations and was very challenging theologically. A lot of people from that period went onto very senior roles in the Church and I am sure it was partly due to this. I witnessed some challenging times too; my first year was the first that woman had trained at SSH, and it was before the formal ordination of women, it really felt like SSH was pushing boundaries; tradition wrestling with modernity.
Fond memories?
I was senior student and decided things needing shaking up a bit, so I organised a House darts competition in one of the upstairs studies. I
can’t remember who won, but I can tell you that the current Archbishop of York was certainly a part of it! It was great fun. I also had the job of giving the traditional humorous speech at the leavers’ dinner. I ventured which companies might sponsored each leaving ordinand’s chasuble –one imagined sponsor was Gordons due to his love of fine spirits!
How
about any scrapes?
Yes! As a novice server I accidentally knocked over an incense boat during Mass. It went absolutely everywhere, and everyone crunched their way out of the Mass! I won’t repeat David Hope’s exact words to me, but I always share the story with new servers at the cathedral to try and set them at ease – these things happen to us all!
How did SSH prepare you for what you’ve subsequently gone on to do?
What lies at the foundation of SSH is a priestly formation which never goes away. It is very deeply rooted. I know that being a priest is my first and foremost vocation. So, whilst my contrasting experiences through life have no doubt shaped me for where I am now, it’s ultimately all about the Word of God and the sacrament, the rhythm of worship.
Any parting thoughts?
Despite the current challenges, I firmly believe that there is, and must be, a place for the full-time residential training that SSH offers. We need to honour the richness of the whole of the CofE, and the catholic movement remains deeply embedded in my heart – it is a very precious and vital part of the Church.
THE PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE
One of the aspirations which the college had when we began the Edward King Centre for Pastoral Theology was to address the teaching of topics and subjects which were important but not covered on the curriculum of a conventional University theology degree. One of the most important of these is Canon Law, and I am delighted that we have now entered a collaboration with colleagues involved in the former Cardiff LLM course in Canon Law, to continue Canon Law teaching through the Common Award. Father Stephen Coleman writes in more detail about this elsewhere in this newsletter.
I was honoured to give the John Lewis Memorial Lecture in Canon Law at Cardiff in March, speaking on the canonist Edmund Wood, and his influence on Bishop Eric Kemp and the move to self-government in the Church of England in the 20th century. While writing this I was particularly struck by the words of the great French theologian Louis Bouyer: ‘For Canon Law, far from being the dusty and abstract science it is too often supposed to be today, is actually the only means to ascertain what the mind of the Church actually is, what she wants to be, or what she wants to be done.’ We look forward to offering more opportunities for teaching and learning in this important theological discipline.
It has been a great pleasure to see the appointment of Professor Andrew Davison to be the new Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, Father Andrew having been the tutor in doctrine here from 2006 to 2009. In the newfangled ‘hustings’ for candidates before the appointment was made, Fr Andrew described himself as a systematic theologian and a Thomist. This is very good news and represents a significant shift of mood in Oxford systematic theology which will I hope re-connect us with the most vibrant work being done in the United States and in Europe by scholars for whom Scholastic method and philosophy is not simply of historic interest.
The recent Conference at Pusey House on the work and legacy of Eric Mascall was testimony to this, and we are delighted that in collaboration with the parish of St Mary Bourne Street in London, we will be able to offer a Mascall scholarship for students interested in pursuing themes in the work he began.
At the beginning of this year we were very sorry to mourn the death of James Whitbourn, whose association with the college began over a decade ago, and who had been Senior Research Fellow here for the past five years. James was a remarkable musician, composer, trainer of choirs, and radio producer, a versatile career to which the many press obituaries testified. He was also a good friend of many of the students here, attentive to
them as a listening ear and taking a full part in the communal and social life of the college. May he rest in peace, and the whole college sends its sympathy and affection to Alison his widow and all his family.
By the time this newsletter arrives, you will have received details of our latest legacy campaign. Our old members are immensely generous givers to the college through the 1876 Society, but for many giving from income is challenging. Please consider leaving us a legacy, so that we can build up the capital funds we need to ensure our future. Legacy giving is a crucial part of fund raising for all educational institutions, and is a good way of ensuring that the benefits we received in our own time are passed on to future generations.
Our minds are turning at the moment to the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the college in 1876. No other theological college has lasted unamalgamated for so long! Under God’s providence we have persevered with our work in the spirit of our founder Bishop Edward King. King wrote in his Pastoral Lectures, ‘Devotedness of life is more important than solidity of labour’, which in a Church that seems obsessed with measuring elusive successes is a consoling reminder of what we are actually here for. We look forward to communicating with you about events and opportunities to come, as the Sesquicentenary approaches.
ORDINATIONS TO THE DIACONATE 2024
• William Allen, Paddington (St James), London
• Alexander Honey, Heavitree (St Michael and All Angels) (St Lawrence) and St Mary Steps, Exeter
• Timothy Newton, Arundel (St Nicholas) w Tortington and South Stoke, Chichester
• Lyanne Beckerson, Ealing (St Peter) Mount Park, London
ORDINATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD 2024 The 1876 Society Thank you to all members of the 1876 Society for their support:
• Stuart Abram
• The Revd Murray AldridgeCollins
• The Revd Dr Peter Anthony
• Andrew Archibald
• The Revd Paul Armstead
• The Revd Simon Atkinson
• The Bishop of Fulham
• The Bishop of Richborough
• The Revd Paul Barrow
• Kathy Bentin
• Dr Paul Beresford-Hill CBE
• The Revd Imogen Black
• The Dean of Ely
• John Booth
• The Revd Toby Boutle
• Professor Ian Boxall
• The Revd David Brecknell
• The Revd Canon Paul Burrows
• Edward Cain
• Richard Keeble, Eastbourne (St Saviour and St Peter), Chichester
• Josephine Godfrey, Bangor Cathedral, Bangor
• Timothy Davies, Swindon New Town, Bristol
• Duncan Hegan, Holborn (St Alban the Martyr) w Saffron Hill St Peter, London
• The Revd Dr John Clark
• The Revd Robert Coates
• Mariko Coelho
• Scott Cooper
• Edmund Cornforth
• The Revd Clinton Crawshaw
• The Revd Canon David Crawley
• Peter Darling
• The Revd John Eldridge
• Dr Uzo Erlingsson
• Dr Erik Erlingsson
• The Revd Bruce Carlin • The Revd John Caster
• The Rt Worshipful Canon Morag Ellis KC
• The Revd Canon Stephen Evans
• The Revd Robert Farmer
• The Revd Canon Robert Fayers
• The Revd Adrian Furse
• The Revd Dr Stephen Fry
• John Furber KC
• The Revd Alexander Garner
• The Revd Stephen Graham
• Jason Groves
• The Ven David Gunn-Johnson
• The Revd James Hair
• The Revd Canon David Herbert
• The Revd Alistair Hodkinson
• The Revd Justin Hutcherson
• Christopher Johnson
• The Revd Robin Jones
• Dominik Jörg
• Malcolm Kemp
• The Revd Philip Kennedy
• David King
• The Revd Dr Tomas Krejci
• The Revd Dr Elizabeth Larson
• The Very Revd F Q Lawson
• The Revd James Mather
• Michael McFarland Campbell
• The Revd Alexander McGregor
• Chad Moody
• The Revd Grant Naylor
• The Revd Stephen Niechcial
• The Revd Dr David Nixon
• The Revd Giles Orton
• Giulia Paoletti
• The Revd Graham Lunn & The Parish of St Michael and St Augustine, Beckenham
• The Parish of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York, USA
• Richard Parker
• The Dean of Peterborough
• Dr Craig Paterson
• The Revd Oliver Petter
• Dr Mark Philpott
• Dr Colin Podmore
• The Revd Hugh Pryse
• The Revd Major Blair Radford
• The Revd Canon Graham Rainford
• The Revd Canon Dr Paul Rampton
• The Revd Jay Ridley
• Alan J Rose
• The Revd Gabe Rusk
• Simon Scruton
• The Revd Canon Bruce Sharpe
• The Revd Canon Brian Simmons
• David Soward
• The Revd David Stanton
• The Revd David Stevenson
• Gillian Stroud
• Gregory Tucker
• Ann Turner
• The Revd Canon Carl Turner
• The Revd Canon Nicholas Turner
• The Venerable Dirk van Leeuwen
• The Revd Michael Vyse
• The Revd Gary Waddington
• The Revd Alan Walker
• The Revd Dr Andrew Walker
• The Revd John Warner
• Revd Martha Weatherill
• The Revd Ben Weitzmann
• The Revd Andreas Wenzel
• The Revd Richard Woods
• Richard Yoder
• The Revd Dr Jennifer Zarek
• The Archbishop of York
• The Bishop of Chichester
successfully completed their courses in 2024. We are very proud
Online:
Visit www.ssho.ac.uk and click ‘Support us’
Email: Contact development@ssho.ac.uk
Telephone: Call +44 (0)1865 599665
St
www.ssho.ac.uk
St Stephen’s House, Oxford, will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2026. To mark the occasion, we are launching a fundraising campaign ‘SSH 150’ with the aim of reaching 150 members – individuals or parishes – to the College’s 1876 Society.
The 1876 Society is a membership society for alumni, friends and supporters of St Stephen’s House. Its aim is to provide a community of stewardship to help support the work and future of the College. Simply by becoming a member, you are supporting this aim. You can join yourself, as a parish, or gift someone else membership. You do not need to be a member of the alumni community to join – everyone is welcome. Membership starts at just £10 per month.
Online: Visit www.ssho.ac.uk and click ‘Support us’
Cheque: Made payable to ‘The Society of St Stephen’s House’, sent to: Development Director, St Stephen’s House, 16 Marston Street, Oxford, OX4 1JX
Bank transfer: Account name: The Society of St Stephen’s House. Account number: 64617086. Sort code: 40-51-62
We will be holding a series of events to mark the 150th anniversary, including an alumni celebration in Oxford on Thursday 23rd October 2026 – please save the date.
Registered Charity Number 1177459.
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