Bishop Matt Brain
Bishop Matt is currently the Anglican Bishop of Bendigo. He has gained a breadth of ministry experience since his ordination in 2003 from his first career as a physiotherapist, to his early years as a youth minister in North West Australia and now a bishop. Bishop Matt is able to bring a diverse range of insights to his writing.
Throughout his ordained ministry Bishop Matt has published numerous books including God is Enough (2021), Wise – Transforming Pastoral Ministry (2019), and Engage! How the church can reconnect with young people (2011). Bishop Matt has a doctorate of Pastoral Theology and has lectured in Theology at St Mark’s Theological College and Charles Sturt University, as well as publishing various articles and conference papers.
Through his publications Bishop Matt seeks to share his learnings in ministry and to equip and encourage others to be the Church in today’s world, so that everyone may come to know Jesus.
Author of:
God is Enough
The Rt Revd Dr Bradly S Billings
Brad has served in ordained Anglican ministry for more than twenty years, and held a variety of roles and positions in the Diocese of Melbourne, including as a vicar, archdeacon and since 2016 as bishop. In addition to his extensive experience in Anglican ministry, Brad has also held a range of governance roles in both the church and community, and has represented the Anglican Church internationally as a member of the executive and foundation supporting the ministry of St George’s College Jerusalem. He is a frequent visitor to the Holy Land, having taken numerous groups on pilgrimage to the land of Jesus.
Throughout his ministry in the church, Brad has continued to research and write in a range of fields, including biblical studies, early Christianity, church history and pastoral theology. He has published articles in a number of peer reviewed journals, including the Journal of Biblical Literature and the Expository Times. He is the author and editor of several books, including the Pastoral Handbook for Anglicans (3rd edition) and Vocation and Ministry in the Anglican Church, published by Broughton Publishing.
Brad has been awarded the Doctorate in Theology (Australian College of Theology) and the Master of Arts in Classics & Archaeology (University of Melbourne). A fully qualified lawyer admitted to practice law by the Supreme Court of Victoria, Brad is presently pursuing his interests in church law by undertaking the Master of Canon Law at Cardiff University.
Brad has been married to Karen for more than thirty years. They live in Melbourne and have five adult children and two grandchildren.
Author of:
The Parish Council Handbook – for old and new members
Editor of:
A Pastoral Handbook for Anglicans: Guidelines and resources for pastoral ministry (3rd edition, 2018)
The Revd Dr Charles Sherlock
Charles has taught Theology and Liturgy for over 40 years, chiefly at Ridley College and in the United Faculty of Theology, Melbourne. He was a member of the Liturgy Commission which drafted A Prayer Book for Australia, and has been a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission since 1991.
Charles enjoys life with his co-theologian Peta Sherlock in Trentham, especially gardening, writing and playing the 5-string banjo.
Author of:
Australian Anglicans Remember
The Revd Dr Elizabeth Smith
The Reverend Dr Elizabeth Smith, currently the Mission Plan Co-ordinator in the Anglican Diocese of Perth, was Vicar of Bentleigh in suburban Melbourne from 1995-2007 and is well known around Australia for her new hymn texts set to familiar tunes.
She was ordained Deacon in 1987 and served as curate in Altona (1987-88) and Mt Waverley (1989-90) before completing a PhD in Berkeley, California (1991-94) exploring the impact of feminist biblical hermeneutics on the use of the bible in Anglican liturgy.
She was ordained priest in 1993 and has been a member of the General Synod Liturgy Commission since 1996.
Her previous publications include Songs for a Hopeful Church: Words for Inclusive Worship (Melbourne: Acorn Press, 1997) and Bearing Fruit in Due Season: Feminist Hermeneutics and the Bible in Worship (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1999), and God Loves a Cheerful Giver: Sixty One-Minute Stewardship Sermons (Melbourne: BEAUT Resources, 2005).
Elizabeth brings biblical and theological insights to life in fresh, direct Australian language, communicating the Christian Good News to a wide range of contemporary worshippers.
Author of:
Prayers and Plays for Christmas and Holy Week
Emeritus Professor Brian Fletcher
Emeritus Professor Brian Fletcher writer, historian and active member of St Alban’s Church, Epping in Sydney was appointed to the newly created Bicentennial Chair of Australian History at the University of Sydney in 1987. He retired in 1999 and is still an Honorary Professor in History at the University of Sydney. He taught history there in the 1950s before joining the staff of the University of New South Wales and returned to Sydney University in 1973. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, of the Royal Australian Historical Society and of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies.
Brian Fletcher is the author of ten books, three dealing with aspects of early New South Wales and two with history as a social and cultural force in Australia. He has also published histories of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales and the Rotary Club of Sydney (of which he is a member and Paul Harris Fellow). In December 2007 he released Magnificent Obsession, The Story of the Mitchell Library, Sydney with Allen & Unwin.
In recent years Brian has spent considerable time researching and writing about the history of Anglicanism in Australia. His particular interest is in bringing out the contribution which Anglicanism has made to the shaping of Australia. He has delivered two named lectures on aspects of Anglicanism, both of which have been published, has produced several articles and contributed chapter to three books.
In addition to writing and teaching, Professor Fletcher has delivered numerous talks on different aspects of Australian history to a wide variety of community groups. He has served on a number of committees dealing with secondary school modern history and has chaired some of these bodies. He was foundation chair of the Board of Trustees for the Journal of Anglican Studies and still occupies that position.
Fletcher was awarded the annual History Citation for 2007 by the History Council of NSW.
Author of:
The Place of Anglicanism in Australia: Church, Society and Nation
The Revd Dr Bruce Kaye
Bruce is one of the leading Anglican Theologians in Australia. Formerly General Secretary of The Anglican Church of Australia General Synod he is a graduate of the Universities of Sydney and London, and of Moore Theological College and was ordained in 1964. He is a Doctor of Theology from the University of Basel in Switzerland. Previous positions have included: Master of New College, in the University of New South Wales, Vice Principal of St John’s College, Durham, Visiting Fellow at the University of Freiburg in Germany, Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University and Fellow Commonee, Churchill College Cambridge.
Dr Kaye has lectured and spoken extensively in Australia and overseas and has published widely on theological, management and social ethics subjects. His most recent books are A Church Without Walls, Being Anglican in Australia, and Godly Citizens.
He maintains a strong involvement in his parish church. He is a member of Amnesty International and formerly President of Relationships Australia (New South Wales).
Author of:
Web of Meaning: The Role of Origins in Christian Faith
Judith F Hall
Judith trained as a kindergarten teacher and has worked in Kindergartens, Child Care Centres, After School Care, Family Day Care, and Foster Care. She has taught Child Care Studies and Human Development at TAFE. While working for the Anglican Mother’s Union as an inner city children’s and family worker Judith developed an interest in social inclusion and advocacy which she has maintained through her membership of Rural Australians for Refugees and other community groups.
As a committed Anglican with a deep love of the liturgy, Judith has always sought to include all the children in parish worship so that the experience is enriching for the entire community. Using the activities and materials she has developed, Judith has presented workshops for conferences, parishes and theological colleges throughout Victoria and in Africa.
Studying has always been integral to Judith’s life. While working as a teacher she undertook Biblical and Pastoral Studies at the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne and while rearing her family she attained a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies and completed an Education for Ministry certificate. She has an abiding interest in Spirituality and Interfaith issues, and is continuing her Graduate Studies at the Melbourne College of Divinity.
Judith lives in Bendigo with her husband and teenage children and enjoys participating in community choirs and multicultural groups. She particularly enjoys her role as coordinator of No Fear Circus at her children’s secondary college.
Constant J Mews
Constant is Professor within the School of Historical Studies, Monash University where he is also Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology. He specialises in the history of medieval thought, education, and religious culture, with particular reference to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. He has published The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France (Palgrave, 1999; 2nd edition, 2008) and Abelard and Heloise (Oxford University Press, 2005) as well as editing or co-editing a number of other volumes, such as Listen Daughter: The ‘Speculum virginum’ and the Formation of Religious Women in the Middle Ages (Palgrave, 2001) as well as editing, with Karen Green, Healing the Body Politic: The Political Thought of Christine de Pizan (Brepols, 2005) and translating with Karen Green and Janice Pinder, Christine de Pizan: The Book of Peace (Penn State University Press, 2008).
Chantal Stewart
Chantal Stewart is a professional children’s illustrator who has illustrated My Illustrated Prayer Book.
Among artists and writers Chantal has worked with Joan van Loon, Bruce Dawe, Libby Gleeson, Sue Walker and Nette Hilton.
Born in Paris, Chantal now lives in Melbourne.