New archdeacon ‘looks forward to dialogue’

The new archdeacon of Oxford is very at home with Cathedral life, which is just as well, as he and his family are moving into Christ Church. He grew up with his father singing in the Cathedral choir at Chelmsford, and he has served most recently at Guildford Cathedral.

Julian will have taken up his post in Oxford on 1 May; his wife Rachel and four children will join him at the end of June, after his two oldest children have finished their AS levels and GCSEs, respectively.

Born into an Anglican family, he says he did the 'usual teenage thing' and drifted away from the church after he was confirmed. It was while he was studying at Cambridge that he came to faith, as an adult.

‘Interestingly, it was through the influence of those who played football. I also had a lot of respect for the college chaplain, and Don Cupitt was dean at the time, so I had lots of influences.

‘I was at the college at the stage at which the Christian union constituted a third of the college, it was a very impressive time, there were lots of thought provoking people around.’

He said he thought about ordination at Emmanuel, but then decided he shouldn't ‘press it’ and explored other opportunities.

He did temporary jobs in London for two years, including working on a building site. ‘In some ways, that was one of the most enjoyable jobs I have ever done! That period of temporary work really was my ‘life experience’ and taught me to relate to people.

‘But as my other opportunities fell down one by one, someone said to me, come on stop messing about, and I went forward for ordination.’

He studied at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, for three years, before having his first taste of parish life in West London. He describes it as a ‘very formative time for me personally’ and it was there that he met and married his wife, Rachel, who works as a headhunter.

He followed Rachel back to Oxford, for her work, and worked jointly at Wycliffe and Jesus College as a chaplain. He then moved to Westminster, and finally Guildford.

‘I know Cathedral life from the inside and I'm looking forward to moving into Christ Church.

‘I think it is hugely important that church stays in touch with academia. The unique position Christ Church holds, of being a college and a Cathedral, presents challenges but it is about using what the past has given us creatively.’
His children, aged from 17 to nine are also looking forward to moving into the place where Harry Potter was filmed, he says.

On his faith, he says he is not a person who doubts, but a person who questions.

‘William Temple (a former Archbishop of Canterbury) once said he never had a doubt and I wouldn't put myself in that category, but I question rather than doubt.

‘Of course there are times when things happen, of which the tsunami was the most recent, which make you think, how on earth is the world ordered? But I ask the question to discover, not to doubt.’

He has discovered God most of all through the experience of love, from growing up in a loving family and having a loving family.

‘Someone once said the main trysting between God and man is in the context of our close relationships and I would want to say the same.

‘Reflection and reading matter to me a lot, and my encounter with people of different faiths has helped me develop spiritually. I have always liked encountering different points of view. I take seriously whatever God sends to me and try to listen.

‘God gave us two ears and one mouth after all, and that means quite a lot, I think. I have learnt about God both through dialogue and disagreements, I look forward to engaging with people in Oxford – the letters have already started coming in!’

He mentions one letter in particular, published in the Door last month, which questioned the need for the seven bedroom apartment which the Archdeacon of Oxford traditionally occupies at Christchurch.

‘The writer should know that the diocese is getting an archdeacon on the cheap in Oxford, as the costs of housing are met by the college, not the diocese,' he laughs.

And with four children to house, and an office and a secretary to fit in, under Archdeacon Hubbard every last one of those rooms at Christ Church will be occupied.

Photo Frank Blackwell