New Chair of Trustees for Churches Together in England

Rev Dr Callan Slipper has been elected as the new Chair of the Churches Together in England (CTE) Trustees by the organisation’s members. He will also become the convenor of the CTE Enabling Group.

He succeeds Rowena Loverance who has been in these roles for the last six years.

Rev Dr Callan said: “I’m deeply moved by the opportunity to serve CTE as Chair, especially as I shall be following in the footsteps of Rowena Loverance. I’ve had the joy of working with her over the past few years and have admired her dedication, selflessness, and the way she has helped to develop CTE’s governance culture. At the same time, I trust in God’s grace as I take up the reins, and so I hope that, with him, I can be an enabling presence for those I work with and, in particular, that together we can inspire an ecumenical vision in the churches in England. As the clouds of division gather across the world, Christians can offer the bright sunshine of the unity God brings—but only if we live it ourselves.”

More about Rev Dr Callan Slipper

Callan Slipper (PhD, Lancaster University) has served as a Trustee of Churches Together in England over the past few years and chairs the Society for Ecumenical Studies. For decades he has been engaged in the ecumenical movement at various levels, especially as the National Ecumenical Officer for the Church of England and, prior to that, as both a County and a Diocesan Ecumenical Officer. He is very much concerned with the need for Christians to develop a renewed ecumenical vision and spirituality. He was ordained priest by the Church of England in 1994 and lives in London in a community of the Focolare Movement, where he strives to practise its spirituality of unity. He is a member of the Focolare’s international study centre, the Abba School, and is the author of Five Steps to Living Christian Unity and Enriched by the Other: A Spiritual Guide to Receptive Ecumenism.

Read more about the Chair of Trustees’ appointment here.

The CTE Enabling Group meeting today also agreed the appointment of Rt Rev Canon Dr Anderson Jeremiah, Bishop of Edmonton, as a new Trustee to represent the Church of England. Bishop 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 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. Anderson was consecrated as the Bishop of Edmonton in April 2024.

Read more about the CTE Trustees here.

Image Credit: Churches Together in England.