Geoffrey Rowell

Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe since 2001

From a traditionalist perspective Bishop Rowell will challenge the conference on key issues.

Rowell is the author of several books including Hell and the Victorians and a biography of John Keble.

Keith Ward

Professor, philosopher and theologian, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University Emeritus.

Fellow of the British Academy and (since 1972) an ordained priest in the Church of England. Canon of Christ Church, Oxford until 2003. Comparative theology and the interplay between science and faith and are two of his main topics of interest.Wikipedia (with bibliography)

Brian Smith

Bishop of Edinburgh since 2001

Born in Edinburgh he attended school and university in that city. He studied theology in Cambridge, focusing on the philosophy of religion. He was ordained deacon in the Diocese of Oxford in 1972, and held a number of posts in that Diocese, including that of Senior Tutor at Ripon College Cuddesdon.

Helen-Ann Hartley

New Testament Tutor, Ripon College Cuddesdon

After studying Theology at the University of St Andrews, she spent studied for a ThM at Princeton Theological Seminary, was a pastoral intern at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. She moved to Oxford and completed her DPhil examining aspects of the portrayal of manual labour in Judaism and Early Christianity with particular reference to the letters of Paul.

She acts as a consultant to BBC television in development of programme ideas in Religion and Ethics.

Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University and an Episcopal priest.

His trilogy: The Making of American Liberal Theology: (1) Imagining Progressive Religion; (II) Idealism, Realism, and Modernity; (III) Crisis, Irony, and Postmodernity, has been described as the definitive work in the field.

She contributed to Why I am Still An Anglican, and to Seven Words for Three Hours. She is a founder adviser to Theos, a think tank launched in 2006.

Jonathan Clatworthy

General Secretary of the MCU since 2002.

His latest book is Liberal Faith in a Divided Church