Change and Transformation
You are very welcome to come and hear the views of our preachers within the beautiful setting of Evensong on Sundays at 6.30pm.
This term our preachers will reflect on how we are constantly called to evolve and be transformed into the likeness of Christ. The poet, Maya Angelou, said ‘we delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty’. As we journey from Epiphany through to Lent, we recall the changing of water into wine, the transformation of darkness into light, and mortality into immortality and we reflect on how we are all called to be the change we wish to see in the world Christ came to save.
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Preacher: The Venerable Dr Alex Hughes
Archdeacon of Cambridge
As archdeacon, Alex has responsibility for the care and support of the church communities in the south of Ely Diocese. He is chair of the Diocesan Board of Education and a trustee of the Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust, and also serves several local church schools. Alex was ordained in Oxford in 2000 and served his Title curacy at Headington Quarry, before moving to Portsmouth Diocese as Bishop’s Chaplain. From 2008 he was vicar of St Luke’s and St Peter’s in inner-city Portsmouth until his appointment as Archdeacon of Cambridge in 2014. Alex studied theology as an undergraduate at Oxford University and then completed an MPhil and PhD in theology at Cambridge. Alex is a trustee and alumnus of Westcott House. He has written on various topics in the fields of liturgy and historical and philosophical theology, as well as contributing to the series of books produced by the ‘Littlemore Group’ led by Sarah Coakley and the Seen&Unseen website run by the Centre for Cultural Witness. He was born in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, though grew up on the south coast of England. His hobbies include riding his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle and running half-marathons.
The Fourth Sunday before Lent
Preacher: The Rt Rev’d Dr Anderson Jeremiah
Area Bishop of Edmonton, London
Anderson Jeremiah was born and raised in Vellore, a South Indian town, in a pastor’s family. After his seminary training at United Theological College in Bangalore, he was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Vellore, Church of South India (an Anglican Province). Anderson came to Edinburgh to pursue his doctoral research and served in the Scottish Episcopal Church, until his move to Lancaster. Anderson became the first lecturer in World Christianity in the department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University. Anderson became deeply involved in the life of the church in Lancashire. As an elected member of the Church of England General Synod Anderson represents the Theological Education Institutions and Universities. Currently he also serves in the Faith and Order Commission and Ministry Council. Anderson is a Globally recognised Anglican Theologian with research interests in the lived facet of World Christianity, and its theological, political, and missional engagement in the wider society. He is deeply passionate about social and environmental justice as a Gospel imperative. His passion for working towards justice and peace as central to Christian Discipleship stems from his lived experience as a Dalit Christian. Having experienced overt and covert racism, Anderson makes a sincere effort to find ways to work for justice and nurture inclusion through his church and academic work. His optimism and hopefulness is grounded in the love of Christ as captured by Paul, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ” (Romans 8. 38–39). Anderson was consecrated as the Bishop of Edmonton in April 2024.
The Third Sunday before Lent
Preacher: The Rev'd Graham Dunn, Chaplain, St John's College
For the Chaplain's own page click here.
The Second Sunday before Lent
Preacher: The Rev’d Dr Sharon Jones
Anglican Chaplain to the University of Birmingham
The Rev’d Dr Sharon Jones is Anglican Chaplain to the University of Birmingham and Lead Chaplain for Higher education for Church of England, Birmingham. A published novelist, her doctorate was in theology of story, and more recently she trained as a Jungian-informed spiritual director. Sharon has worked in Anglo-Catholic parishes, universities, and Fresh Expressions, and in collaboration with local parishes, she has planted two new worshiping communities, one focused on the practices of Christian spirituality, and the other inclusive charismatic. Sharon is passionate about exploring the riches of Christian spirituality with young and old, helping people discover their vocation, and what it means for them to be fully alive in Christ.
The Sunday Next before Lent
Preacher: The Rt Rev’d Dr Rosemarie Mallett
Area Bishop of Croydon, Southwark
Rosemarie trained for ministry at the South Eastern Institute for Theological Education (SEITE, now known as St Augustine’s College) and was ordained in 2004. She served her curacy at Christ Church, Brixton in the Diocese of Southwark and was appointed Priest-in-Charge of St John, Angell Town in 2007, becoming Vicar in 2013; the same year in which she also became an Honorary Canon of Southwark Cathedral. Rosemarie was Archdeacon of Croydon from March 2020 until her consecration as Bishop of Croydon in June 2022. Rosemarie has been a member of the General Synod of the Church of England since 2010. Prior to ordination, she obtained a PhD in sociology and worked as a senior researcher and honorary lecturer and in the field of BAME mental health.
The First Sunday of Lent
Preacher: The Rt Rev’d Mary Stallard
Bishop of Llandaff
Originally from Birmingham, Bishop Mary Stallard grew up in a vicarage. Her father was a vicar and her mother a scientist which meant she was raised in a home where asking questions about life and faith was encouraged. Mary read Theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge and studied to be a teacher in London before training for ministry at Queen’s College, Birmingham and Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary in India. Among the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church in Wales in 1997, she served her curacy in Newport, before moving to the Diocese of St Davids as deacon-in-charge and vicar of Ysbyty Cynfyn, Eglwys Newydd and Llantrisant. In 2003, Mary was appointed Canon Residentiary at St Asaph Cathedral and Bishop’s Chaplain, serving also as Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Chair of the Diocesan Board of Ministry, and as Provincial Selection Secretary. From 2011 to 2018 she served as Anglican Chaplain at St Joseph’s Catholic & Anglican High School, as well as being an Associate Priest in the Wrexham Mission Area. She was also co-director of the St Giles’ Centre for Religious Education & Faith Development in Wrexham. She was appointed Archdeacon of Bangor and associate priest of Llandudno in 2018. She was appointed Assistant Bishop in Bangor in 2022. Mary’s substantial broadcasting ministry has seen her appear on BBC Radio Cymru as a leader of Yr Oedfa and contributor to Bwrw Golwg, on BBC Radio Wales’s All Things Considered, Celebration, Wednesday Word and Weekend Word, and on Radio 4 as a leader of The Daily Service and Sunday Worship and as the author and presenter of Prayer for the Day.
The Second Sunday of Lent
Preacher: The Rev'd Canon Dr Victoria Johnson, Dean, St John's College
For the Dean's own page click here.
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