Speakers

Brian D. McLaren

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former pastor and teacher, he is the author of numerous hugely influential books, including the award-winning A New Kind of Christianity, We Make the Road by Walking and The Great Spiritual Migration. He is a passionate advocate for a Christianity that is just, generous, and committed to working with people of all faiths for the common good. https://brianmclaren.net/

Sessions

Lecture: Worship that Destroys (and Saves) the World
Cathedral Evensong

Anna Carter Florence

Anna Carter Florence is the Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary, Georgia, and one of the most popular speakers at the annual US Festival of Homiletics.  A minister in the Presbyterian Church and a former youth pastor, she is the author of Rehearsing Scripture: Discovering God’s Word in Community (Canterbury Press, 2018), based on her Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale Divinity School. Nadia Bolz-Weber writes, ‘I’m so grateful for her work, her love of the Bible, and her insistence that in it we find truth.’

Sessions

Evening lecture: Anna Carter Florence
Morning worship

Paula Gooder

Paula Gooder’s passion is to ignite people’s enthusiasm for reading the Bible today, by presenting the best of biblical scholarship in an accessible and lively way. A leading Pauline scholar, she has taught in theological education, served on General Synod, and is a member of Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission. The author of numerous bestselling books, Paula will be speaking on preaching the parables which is also the focus of her forthcoming book, Biblical Explorations: The Parables  https://www.gooder.me.uk/

Sessions

Lecture: Preaching the Parables

Mark Oakley

Mark Oakley is Dean of St John’s College Cambridge and one of the most engaging voices in the church today. Former Chancellor and Residentiary Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral, he is a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Kings College London; Visiting Scholar at Sarum College, and a Deputy Priest in Ordinary to HM the Queen.  He is an Ambassador for StopHate UK, Patron of Tell MAMA (supporting those affected by anti-Muslim hate crime) and a Trustee of the Civil Liberties Trust.  His books, The Collage of God and The Splash of Words have reprinted many times,

Sessions

Late-night liturgy
Morning worship
Lecture - Danger in the Pulpit: the sermon I want to preach but never quite can

Pádraig Ó Tuama

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet and theologian, whose work combines interests in language, faith, groupwork, storytelling and conflict resolution. A popular lecturer and retreat leader, Pádraig leads the Corrymeela Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organisation. He has published two poetry collections, Readings from the Book of Exile and Sorry For Your Troubles, and is the author of In the Shelter and Daily Prayer from Corrymeela. http://www.padraigotuama.com/

Sessions

Late-night liturgy
Late-night liturgy
Seminar led by Pádraig Ó Tuama

Rachel Mann

Rachel Mann is a priest, poet, liturgist, music critic and author.  She is rector of a parish in Manchester and an honorary canon of Manchester Cathedral where she was poet in residence for eight years.  The author of Dazzling Darkness and Fierce Imaginings, her forthcoming book is In the Bleak Midwinter: through Advent with Christina Rossetti. www.rachelmann.co.uk

Sessions

Late-night liturgy
Seminar: Sermons Seldom Heard
Late-night liturgy

Nadim Nassar

Nadim Nassar is both the first and the only Syrian priest working in the Church of England and is passionate about helping Christians understand their Middle Eastern heritage, which is the culture of the Bible and of Jesus himself.  Fr Nadim was previously a university chaplain and is now Director of the Awareness Foundation  which aims ‘to equip Christians everywhere to form an effective counter-force to the intolerance and mistrust that now prevail in so many communities, and to build understanding between the faiths’.  He is the author of The Culture of God.  

Sessions

Seminar: Preaching the Culture of God in the Cultures of the World

Ally Barrett

Ally Barrett is a priest and a tutor Westcott House, Cambridge with a special interest in developing skills for leading worship and preaching with all ages. Through the Westcott Foundation she is involved in training and resourcing lay and ordained church leaders. She is author of several books, and is presently writing Preaching With All Ages: 12 Ways to Grow Your Skills and your Confidence.

Sessions

Seminar: All-age preaching

Margaret Whipp

Margaret Whipp practiced as a consultant oncologist before becoming a priest in the Church of England. She taught pastoral theology at Cranmer Hall and Ripon College Cuddesdon, where she was Dean of Studies, and is now Chaplain for the Oxford University Hospitals Trust, and an Honorary Canon of Christ Church Cathedral. Margaret is the author of The Grace of Waiting and the SCM Study Guide to Pastoral Theology, and is a regular contributor to Reflections for Daily Prayer.    

Sessions

Seminar - Diving for Pearls: Preaching as Pastoral Care

Kate Bruce

Kate Bruce is an RAF Chaplain. She was Deputy Warden and Tutor on Homiletics at Cranmer Hall from 2013 to 2018, and still teaches and researches in the area of preaching. She lists her interests as stand-up comedy, skiing, running and eating chocolate. Kate is the author of Igniting the Heart: Preaching and Imagination and co-edited Wrestling with the Word: Preaching Tricky Texts. Kate is one of the church's most outstanding preachers.

Sessions

Cathedral Evensong
Seminar: Whose Sermon is it Anyway? Preaching on public and civic occasions

Doug Gay

Doug Gay provided one of the most unforgettable moments of the 2017 Festival of Preaching with his heart-stopping sermon on Mary of Bethany. A lecturer in practical theology, liturgy and homiletics at the University of Glasgow, and a songwriter, we’re delighted he is joining us again. Since last time, his excellent God Be In My Mouth: 40 Ways to Grow as a Preacher has been published.

Sessions

Late-night liturgy
Morning worship

Martyn Percy

Martyn Percy is the Dean of Christ Church and one of the most articulate and compelling commentators on the church today. He teaches in the Faculty of Theology and is a Fellow of the Said Business School in the University of Oxford.   He has held numerous posts in public life and presently advises the British Board of Film Classification. Reasonable Radical? Reading the Writings of Martyn Percy, edited by Ian Markham and Joshua Daniel, was recently praised by Bishop John Inge as demonstrating Martyn’s ‘theological acuity’ and ‘truly impressive’ body of writing.

Sessions

Opening Worship: Cathedral Evensong
Festival Dinner
Lecture: Martyn Percy

David Hoyle

David Hoyle is the Dean of Bristol and author of the acclaimed The Pattern of Our Calling, described by Martyn Percy as  ‘a miniature spiritual masterpiece … quite simply, a gem.’ He cannot keep humour and good grace out of his sermons, or his e-mails, and his forthcoming book, A Year of Grace, explores the Christian seasons as a way of learning theology.

Sessions

Seminar: Why do we preach? If you know what it's for, you have a better chance of getting it right

Steven Croft

Steven Croft is the Bishop of Oxford and one of the authors of Pilgrim, the Church of England’s course in Christian formation and discipleship. Formerly head of Fresh Expressions, he believes that laying good foundations of faith in the lives of enquirers and new Christians is the most important  priority for the church today, a priority which is reflected in a forthcoming book, Rooted and Grounded; Faith Formation and the Christian Tradition co-authored with other Oxford writers.

Sessions

Seminar: Preaching as Catechesis