Who We Are
About
Director – the Rev’d Charles Raven
Charles Raven was educated at Oxford and Durham Universities. At Oxford he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and after five years in London working for a major UK bank he read Theology as part of his training in Durham for ordination in the Church of England. He was ordained in 1988 and served a curacy in West Yorkshire. From 1992 he was incumbent of St John the Baptist Kidderminster in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire. In 1999 the then diocesan bishop publicly disowned Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference which reaffirmed biblical teaching on sexuality. As a result St John’s, under Charles’ leadership, broke fellowship with the bishop as a matter of biblical conscience and in 2002 it became necessary to continue as a self funded mission congregation outside the official structures of the Church of England as Christ Church Wyre Forest.
Charles association with SPREAD began in early 2007 when it was based in Illinois, USA and towards the end of 2008 he was invited to take on the role of Director. SPREAD is now based in the England where Charles combines that role with his continuing ministry as Rector of Christ Church. He is a widely read commentator on Anglican affairs and the author of ‘Shadow Gospel: Rowan Williams and the Anglican Communion Crisis’ which is due to be published in July 2010 by Latimer Trust.
He was a delegate in Jerusalem for the launch of GAFCON in June 2008 and is a member of the GAFCON Theological Resource Group, which acts as an advisory group to the GAFCON Primates Council.
He is married to Gillian, a teacher, and they have three adult children. They live in Bewdley, Worcestershire, an historic Georgian market town on the River Severn.
Panel of Reference
The Rev’d Dr Roger T Beckwith, formerly Warden of Latimer House, Oxford.
The Rev’d Dr Mark Burkill, Vicar of Christ Church Leyton and Chairman of Latimer Trust
The Revd David Holloway, Vicar of Jesmond Parish Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The Rt Rev’d Martin Morrison, Bishop, The Church of England in South Africa.
Dr Lisa Severine Nolland, writer, lay chaplain and web consultant to Anglican Mainstream UK.
The Rt Rev’d Dr John H Rodgers, formerly Dean and President of Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry, Pittsburgh, USA.
The Rt Rev’d John Rucyahana, Bishop of Shyira, Rwanda.
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