M17 - Re-formations: Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
Our sermon series this term is entitled ‘Re-Formations’ - the enduring implications of the Reformation on Western Christianity and faith today. Our preachers will explore this theme each Sunday during the Michaelmas term.
Preacher: Christina Rees CBE, Writer, broadcaster
Christina Rees is a writer and commentator and for many years was a member of General Synod, Archbishops' Council and a leading advocate for women's ordination in the Church of England. She is a well-known contributor to radio and television programmes and has written for many newspapers, magazines and journals. She speaks widely on issues of contemporary faith and spirituality. Her books include The Divine Embarce and Feast + Fast, Food for Lent and Easter. In 2015 Christina was awarded a CBE for services to the Church of England.
Preacher: The Rt Rev’d Martin Wharton, Honorary Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe
Martin Wharton left school at 16 and worked in banking and in steel before training for ordination in Durham and Oxford.
He served in parishes in Birmingham, Croydon, Oxford and Bradford before being consecrated as Bishop of Kingston in 1992. He was translated to Newcastle in 1997 where he was privileged to ordain your chaplain (and her husband). He celebrated the 25th anniversary of his consecration two days ago and now lives in (so called) retirement in south west London. He continues to be a long suffering supporter of Newcastle United.
Preacher: The Rev’d Dr Calvin Samuel, Principal, London School of Theology
The Revd Dr Samuel took up the role of Principal of London School of Theology in January 2017. He is a Methodist minister who came to London School of Theology (LST) from the University of Durham where he held the roles of Academic Dean of St John’s College & Director of Wesley Study Centre. Dr Samuel has a wealth of experience in leadership in a variety of contexts. In his first career, he was a bank manager. His previous roles include Research Administrator in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing within the University of Manchester and Assistant Director of Research & Faculty Administration at London Business School. Born in Barbados, he grew up in Antigua and came to Britain in the mid 1990s where he spent four intense and happy years training for ministry and completing a BA in Theology & Pastoral Studies at the Nazarene Theological College in Manchester. He was awarded his PhD for a multidisciplinary thesis exploring the interplay between biblical studies, church history and education entitled: Holiness & Holy School. In his spare time (when he has any) he salivates over cars he can't afford and tries to be as passionate as he was about Formula 1 before it left terrestrial television.
Preacher: Dr Beth Phillips, Tutor in Theology and Ethics, Westcott House
Dr Phillips earned her PhD from Cambridge in 2008. She is Director of Studies and Tutor in Theology and Ethics at Westcott House. She teaches Christian Ethics and Political Theology in the Faculty of Divinity and the Cambridge Theological Federation. She is the author of Political
Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Christian Political Theology. She also co-convenes ‘The Good Life and the Good Society’, a Learning Together course in which Cambridge students study alongside prison students inside a high security prison.
Preacher: The Rev’d Dr Michael Volland, Principal, Ridley Hall
Before coming to Cambridge Michael was Director of Mission at Cranmer Hall, Missioner to the East Durham Mission Project; a group of 9 parishes in the east of the Diocese of Durham, and Acting Area Dean of Easington.
Prior to his ministry in Durham, Michael spent three years on the staff of Gloucester Cathedral, during which time he pioneered and led a fresh expression of church in the city centre. Before ordination training he spent six years engaged in parish-based youth ministry.
Michael has led a number of mission teams to Newquay in Cornwall and also spent a number of years on the worship planning team for Greenbelt Festival. He holds a commission in the Royal Army Chaplains Department (RAChD) and has served as chaplain to Durham Army Cadet Force.
Michael is married and he and his wife have three children. He enjoys surfing and has been a member of Christian Surfers UK for over twenty years.
Preacher: Professor Richard Rex, Professor of Reformation History and Fellow of Queens’ College
Richard Rex is a Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge, where he is Director of Studies in Theological and Religious Studies as well as a Tutor for graduate students.
Although not a frequent performer in the travelling circus of modern academia, and generally averse to translatlantic flights, he nevertheless makes occasional guest appearances at the Academia Moriae, Amaurote.
He has a speciality in a number of areas of Christian history including, to name a few, the interaction between religion, politics, and ideas in early modern England and Europe, the political, social, and intellectual aspects of English religious history from the late 14th to the early 17th century (including John Wycliffe, Lollardy, early Protestantism, and the English Reformation and its aftermath) and the Reformation era in Europe, most especially relating to the interaction of 'humanism' with theology and religion.