About Me
Here is a broad outline of my life so far. If you want to know what I might do in
the future look at Work in Progress and Services Offered.
Youth
I was born on 24th November 1953 in Surrey. As a child I was shy
and 'bookish', interested in knowledge of all
kinds. I attended Godalming Grammar School, a lovely community where I made
friends I have to this day. I studied philosophy at Sussex University
and gained a 1st class degree, going on to write my
Ph. D. thesis at Bristol University.
There I married the wonderful Judith, also now ordained, and we have often, though
not always, worked as a partnership in ministry.
I feel very much a child of the sixties. Though I became a Christian before I could
buy heavily into the 'alternative' subcultures of the time, I feel there
was a heady innocence in all that radical revolutionary stuff that remains the best
agenda for our jaded 21st century times. I hope that this website helps keep
that agenda alive.
Career
I served for 20 years as a parish priest in Bristol, click
here for more details on this
part of my life.
Teaching and publishing remained an important part of my ministry, and flowered,
briefly, when I took up a post as lecturer in systematic theology and ethics at
St Michael's, Llandaff, teaching undergraduates and supervising graduates at
Cardiff University.
A new Turn
I much enjoyed this teaching and seminar work, as I had enjoyed parish ministry.
But my time at St Michael's culminated in something of a personal crisis, which
in my forthcoming book
Buddhist Christianity I describe as ultimately due to my ministry having
become 'ego-bound'.
A time in the wilderness has brought about a changing sense of my
priesthood; a need to be
honest, not least about my faith, and not make wild claims I cannot ground in my
heart and mind; connected with that, a desire to connect back to the Buddhist
phase of my life; and a realisation that life is becoming short for the
theological themes I need to explore. All this has led me to focus on a
life of study, writing and contemplation.
Other Interests
I make no firm distinction between work and leisure; all life, and theological
life especially, is play, but the generous celebration of life is a serious
concern. But things I enjoy a lot include walking, travel, wine and beer
brewing, gardening, astronomy, aromatherapy, cooking and painting. We like
holidaying on the remote edges of Europe, especially the Hebridean and Greek
Islands.
Life on the Edge
In all I think mine has been a 'ministry on the edge' in three senses: a
fellow-feeling with those on the edges of society; an increasingly 'edgy'
nature, impatient with mainstream trends in Church and society alike; and a
passion for exploring the edges of Christian theology, where it interfaces with
science, literature, and the Buddhist faith.
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