I’m minister to the congregation of  Mill Hill Chapel on City Square in the centre of Leeds – Mill Hill is a Unitarian chapel, the congregation was first formed in 1672 so there has been 350 years continuity of rational dissenting worship in this place.

I’m interested in what happens next when as a culture we acknowledge that although we’ve abandoned God we haven’t found peace or freedom or anything really worthwhile to take that space. I think industrial culture is mechanistic and domineering (and as a result it is in very serious trouble), but I sense reality isn’t like that; reality flows and is endlessly creative, endlessly loving.
I used to work in the theatre and I learned a lot from the creative strategies of artists at the edge of their industry.
I was an atheist before discovering Unitarianism, then I started learning about the liberal Christianity of my Grandparents generation and earlier and I am learning to recover some of the living links with the resources which have sustained folk for many, many generations. Luckily there was a way for me to learn the craft of Ministry and so I’ve been able to re-kindle an affiliation with religion.
I was called to the ministry at Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds which is a very grand gothic church, but it is built on the site of an older chapel and it is the gentle spirit of that place which really keeps things going. I ‘ve been minister here for seven years. In that time I‘ve been most moved by what happens to people when they realise there is no barrier between themselves and the Divine, and so I try to foster the conditions where that experience can occur most easily.
I also help create community groups and work alongside all sorts of people, putting on bands, growing food and encouraging new things to happen.

I’m married to Ann an artist and we have two children, three cats & a dog

Unitarianism is a wisdom tradition which seeks to approach the sacred in participation and worship. Unitarians recognise that the spiritual life cannot be precisely defined but should aim to be inclusive and compassionate. Nourished by the deep springs of  Judeo-Christian tradition, we value other religious and spiritual traditions as well as scientific and secular sources.  We acknowledge the role of reason and scientific method in developing a greater understanding of the real world and we also recognise that materialistic rationalism cannot hold all the answers to the great questions of life – which is why we cherish the spiritual resources of our religious inheritance, the inspired contribution of the arts, and ways of being which are compassionate, generous, considerate and gracious, seeing in them evidence of the ‘divine spark’ which exists in all life.

I’ ve sometimes been asked for a meditation, a prayer or longer element of a service that I’ve given, so instead of emailing them individually I ‘ve decided to blog bits and pieces here. If they are of use either privately or in a group or congregational setting I’d be delighted. I’m also going to put some sermons or addresses here too – I hope they may be of interest.