Bishop Philip North

Bishop of Burnley

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Philip North is Bishop of Burnley in the Diocese of Blackburn. He began ministry in the Diocese of Durham, serving outer estates Parishes in Sunderland and Hartlepool, and then spent six years ministering to pilgrims to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham as Priest Administrator. He returned to parochial ministry as Team Rector of the Parish of Old St Pancras, serving a large area of North-west London around Camden Town, and was consecrated Bishop and moved to Lancashire in February 2015. He has a strong interest in issues around poverty and social justice and in the vitality of the urban church and is Chair of the Church of England’s Renewal and Reform Estates Evangelism group. He is a member of the Company of Mission Priests, a dispersed community who live to a rule in order to focus their lives on the mission of the church, especially amongst the poor.

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Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali

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Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali is the now President of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue (OXTRAD). He was Bishop of Rochester from 1994- 2009. Before that he was the General Secretary of the Church Mission Society (CMS), having been Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan, where he has both a Christian and a Muslim family background. From 1999, Bishop Michael was a member of the House of Lords where he was active in a number of areas of national and international concern. Between 1997 and 2003, he was a member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and chair of its Ethics and Law Committee and was also the chair of the Rochester Commission on woman bishops. He was also President of the Network for Interfaith Relations (NIFCON) of the Anglican Communion. He has studied, researched and taught at a number of colleges and universities, including those of Karachi, Oxford and Cambridge. He is the author of several books. The last being Faith, Freedom and the Future; Challenges for the 21st Century (2016).

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Lorna Ashworth

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Originally from Canada, Lorna met her English husband Mark while on missions in Jamaica. They have 3 children aged 17, 14 and 10.  Together, they studied at Oak Hill Theological college where Lorna completed a degree and MA in Theological and Pastoral Studies.  For 12 years she served in various capacities on the General Synod of the Church of England including the Board of Education, the Revision Committee for the draft legislation on women bishops, Business Committee and the Archbishops’ Council.  She was also involved in the appointments the Bishop of Ebbsfleet and the Bishop of Chichester. In November 2017, Lorna resigned from the Synod, stating that the C of E, as a corporate body, have become unable to articulate the saving message of Jesus Christ.  Lorna continues to serve in her local church and enjoys teaching the bible and speaking at women’s conferences.

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Rev'd Lee Gatiss

Director of Church Society

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Revd Dr Lee Gatiss is the Director of Church Society (www.churchsociety.org) and Lecturer in Church History at Union School of Theology in Bridgend. Originally from the North-East, he has served in various churches in England, from a small village of thatched cottages in Northamptonshire to a large evangelical centre in the City of London, and currently lives in Cambridge with his wife and three children. He is the author/editor of more than 20 books on the Bible, theology, church history, and Anglicanism, including The NIV Proclamation Bible, and Foundations of Faith: Reflections on the Thirty-nine Articles, as well as producing a weekly video commenting on Sunday’s lectionary readings at facebook.com/lectionarylee.