Hearing the voices of women in our Churches
Join our distinguished panel who will be discussing how the voices of women might be better heard in our various Christian traditions.
Wednesday 4 May 7.30 – 9 p.m
Rt. Revd. Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth is originally from Leicestershire, Cherry Vann has served as Archdeacon of Rochdale, in the Diocese of Manchester, for the past 11 years. She trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge, and was ordained as a deacon in 1989. Among the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1994, she has spent her entire ministry so far in the Diocese of Manchester, in Flixton, Bolton and Farnworth and latterly across Ashton, Oldham and Rochdale. She was also an honorary canon of Manchester Cathedral and a former chaplain to Deaf people. Ms Vann has held senior posts in the governance of the Church of England. She has been Prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of York and an ex-officio member of the Archbishops’ Council. A talented pianist, Ms Vann is both an Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) and a Graduate of the Royal Schools of Music. She was conductor of the Bolton Chamber Orchestra for more than 20 years.
Dr. Racheal Adebayo is a theologian and educationalist who has taught in higher education institutions in Nigeria and the UK. Her doctoral research at the University of Warwick investigated the religion and spirituality of black teenagers in the UK. Currently she is a lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire, Birmingham campus where she continues her research work. She is a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and serves as a pastor at a parish in Leicester.
Sr Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ is a sister of the Congregation of Jesus, director of the Religious Life Institute and senior lecturer in pastoral theology at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge. She teaches Christian spirituality at the Cambridge Theological Federation. She has been a spiritual director, retreat giver and lecturer for over 25 years, as well as having worked as a prison and university chaplain. She is the author of The Way of Ignatius and Dancing at Still Point (SPCK).