The Diocese of Oxford announced today the appointment of the Revd Dr Andy Angel as Director of Formation for Ministry and Dr Andrew Hayes as Lay Ministry Enabler.
Andy Angel has been Vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Burgess Hill since 2016, in the Diocese of Chichester and is a member of Chichester Diocesan Synod. He comes with extensive experience of training people for mission and ministry, having been Vice-Principal of St John’s Nottingham until 2016, and of using theology to resource the church, having been involved both in the setting up of Common Awards and in the Living in Love and Faith process. As Director of Formation for Ministry, Andy will lead the development of a holistic vision and strategy for the formation for ministry in the diocese which will support and enable the flourishing of lay and ordained ministers across the Diocese of Oxford.
Andrew Hayes joins the diocese from the Queens Foundation, in Birmingham where he has been the Director of the Centre for Discipleship and Theology since 2020. In the new role of Lay Ministry Enabler, Andrew will bring his considerable skills and experience in digital learning to support the diocese’s renewed vision for lay formation and ministry. This will include leading the development of a new online digital learning platform that supports the diocesan vision to deliver more accessible, diverse and intuitive lay training and learning opportunities.
Speaking on his appointment, the Revd Dr Andy Angel said:
“I have long been convinced that the ministerial development of the whole people of God, lay and ordained, is key to the flourishing of God’s church. I am excited by the diocesan vision for a holistic strategy for enabling all of God’s people to play our part in mission and ministry. I am also humbled by and grateful for the invitation to be involved in this. I am looking forward to watching and seeing where the Lord leads us all.”
Dr Andrew Hayes shares his hopes for the new Lay Ministry Enabler role:
“As a lay person who has had the privilege to explore faith and theology with others in different settings, I am passionate about creating opportunities for others to do so. I am excited to help shape engaging and life giving ways to enable people to go deeper into their faith and to do so in conversation with others.”
Andrew Anderson-Gear, Director of Mission and Ministry, said:
“I am delighted that Andy and Andrew will be joining us in these key roles to which they both bring a wealth of gifts and experience. I look forward to working with them to build on the progress of the past two years as we seek to encourage greater diversity of ministry for a diverse church, a rich and deep Continual Ministerial Development programme, and provide a robust and creative training and formational pathway for Licensed Lay Ministry.”
About the Revd Dr Andy Angel
Andy joins the diocese from the Diocese of Chichester. Prior to this, Andy taught biblical studies at SEITE (now St Augustine’s College) and St John’s College, Nottingham. He mentored tutor groups, supervised doctorates, and was involved in academic management as a Tutor for Admissions, Director of Distance Learning and latterly the Vice-Principal. During his time in theological colleges, Andy oversaw and delivered both lay and ordination training. Andy has always engaged in the life the parish church, alongside teaching the gospels and Greek in his day job, he has helped with holiday clubs, Messy Church, and leads home groups in his leisure time.
Before training for the ordained ministry, Andy was a secondary school teacher for 10 years. He has a passion for lifelong learning and his written works include books on the Son of Man, Angels, and Living prayerfully with suffering. His academic specialism is divine warrior myth in second temple Judaism and its relation to the New Testament.
Andy loves cooking (particularly tapas), gardening and his family – in reverse order! He is married to Fabi and they have two sons, Sebastian and Jason.
About Dr Andrew Hayes
Having grown up in Edinburgh, Andrew first studied theology at New College, University of Edinburgh. Following completion of a doctorate in Theology at Kings College London, Andrew has held academic teaching positions at Queens University since 2014. More recently, he has been the Director of Centre for Discipleship and Theology at the college where part of his role involves overseeing Independent Students, Distance Learning, and the training of Licensed Lay Ministers.
Andrew’s main area of research is on the early Church theologian Justin Martyr. His publications also include works on the doctrine of providence, theological education, discipleship, culture and Liberation theology.
Andrew is married to Serena, Vicar of St Mary’s Banbury and LGBTI+ chaplain for the Diocese of Oxford, and together they have a son and a cockapoo.
Oxford Local Ministry Pathway
In early 2022, the Bishop’s Council endorsed a proposal for the Diocese of Oxford to withdraw from providing its own ordination training pathway from Autumn 2022, while continuing to fully support its current students. This was in response to a desire to reflect and support the richness of ordination training provided by theological education institutions across the country and refocus resources on lay training. It agreed to develop a renewed vision for lay training to serve and equip a confident community of those in lay ministry roles in the diocese. Find out more.