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Eight people honoured for their work for the Church of England and the Diocese of Oxford

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This is a text-only version of an article first published on Monday, 30 January 2017. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.

SEVEN new Canons were installed at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday 28 January.

In the same service one new member was admitted to the Order of St Frideswide.

Last year's Honorary Canons smile for the camera after the annual service.

The Canons are the Revd Jeff West, the Revd Kevin Davies, the Revd Emma Percy and the Revd Canon John Rees.

Lay Canons are Sarah Meyrick and Richard Fisher.

The Ecumenical Canon is the Revd Dr Ralph Waller.

Canons are selected because of their work within the Diocese of Oxford and the wider church.

During the same service Michael Hardman was admitted to the Order of St Frideswide.

The order, named after the patron saint of Oxford, was founded in 2001 by the then Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Richard Harries.

It is a way of giving recognition to lay people who have given outstanding service to the Church over many years. Biographies: Sarah Meyrick has worked as a journalist, editor and PR professional.

She is the Director of Communictions for the Diocese of Oxford and the Director of the Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature.

She lives in Northamptonshire with her husband.

Last year she published her first novel, Knowing Anna. Richard Fisher joined the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) in 1988, straight after reading Classics at Lady Margaret Hall, which is part of Oxford University.

It was originally intended to be a one-year appointment as a gap year before going to theological college, but 28 years later he's still there.

He has led the charity since its relocation to Oxfordshire in 1991.

He is married to Karen, who herself was a student at Christ Church, and they have a daughter Hannah and a son Will. The Revd Jeff West is a social scientist and historian by background, and formerly a director at English Heritage.

Jeff has served since 2007 as a self-supporting minister at St Mary's, Banbury. Chair of the Cotswolds Conservation Board from 2009-14, he also sits on the Cherwell Local Strategic Partnership and in 2012 was appointed Area Dean of Deddington. The Revd Kevin Davies attended Maidstone Grammar School, and University College, Oxford, where he graduated in Chemistry in 1984, and served as Junior Dean from 1986-87.

He has been in full time Christian ministry since 1987, and after a theology degree from Bristol and ordination in 1993 served parishes in the Bradford and Carlisle Dioceses.

He became the Rector of the Langtree Team ministry in 2002, and was the Area Dean of Henley from 2011-2016. The Revd Emma Percy is Chaplain, Fellow and Welfare Dean of Trinity College, Oxford.

She was one of the first generation of women priests in the Church of England and is chair of WATCH (Women And The Church).

Her research interests include feminist theology and the practice of ministry.

Her two recent books are Mothering as a Metaphor for Ministry, Ashgate, and What Clergy do: especially when it looks like nothing.

SPCK. The Revd Canon John Rees has been involved with the legal aspects of the Diocese for over 30 years, including nearly 20 years as a registrar. He was appointed a 'Provincial Canon' of Canterbury Cathedral in 2001, in connection with his work for the Archbishop both nationally and internationally, and made a Chaplain to HM The Queen in 2014. Michael Hardman was born in India in 1938.

After returning to England he became a committed Christian in his late teens through Sutton Crusaders, Surrey.

After qualifying as a chartered accountant and marrying Jacquie, who he met at Crusaders, they joined Christ Church, Bristol in 1963, moving to Buckinghamshire in 1966.

He became a member of the PCC in Chesham in 1968 and has held treasury roles from then until now, nearly 50 years.

He served as Vice-Chair of the Oxfordshire Diocesan Board of Finance for 15 years. Ralph Waller has been the Principal of Harris Manchester College since 1988. He is a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and Director of the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies. He researches on eighteenth and nineteenth-century church history and religious thought. He is a Methodist Minister who has written extensively on John Wesley.

Page last updated: Monday 30th January 2017 12:00 AM
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