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SIX PEOPLE will be honoured at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford next month. Four clergy who serve in the Oxford Diocese will become Honorary Canons, in recognition of the distinguished service they have given the diocese. They are the Revd Charlie Cleverly, Rector of St Aldates, Oxford; the Revd Dr Simon Jones, Fellow and Chaplain of Merton College, Oxford; the Revd Andrew Marsden, Vicar of St Sebastian's, Wokingham; and the Revd Geoff Maughan, Vicar of Cumnor. In addition, the Revd Dr Martin Wellings, Superintendent Minister of the Oxford Methodist Circuit, will be made an Ecumenical Canon; and Sir Tony Baldry, MP for Banbury and Second Church Estates Commissioner, will become a Lay Canon. Honorary Canons take part in the life of the Cathedral by becoming members of the College of Canons.
They also serve as ambassadors for the Cathedral in their parish or other ministry. There are no specific duties attached to the posts of Ecumenical or Lay Canon, but those who take on these roles are invited to join in the life of the Cathedral and to serve as a bridge between the Cathedral, the wider Church and the world. The six will be 'installed' as canons at a special service of Evensong on Saturday 31 January 2015 at 6 pm. The Dean of Christ Church, the Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy, said: "We are delighted to welcome six new Honorary Canons to the life and work of the Cathedral. Each brings distinctive gifts and qualities that will enrich our collegiality, and will strengthen the mission and ministry of the diocese. "We greatly look forward to their installation, and to all that their presence will bring to us in our community, city and counties". Biographies:Revd Charlie CleverlyCharlie Cleverly read modern languages at Oxford where he was 'trained to doubt' by studying Enlightenment and Existentialist literature.
He was drawn to Christianity while working as an actor in Oxford.
Since ordination, he led for ten years a French-speaking Church in inner-city Paris before moving in 2002 to become Rector of St Aldates, a 'House of prayer for all nations at the heart of Oxford'.
A thousand people attend this city centre Church each Sunday, including many students.
He has been involved in setting up 'ACT!' which reaches ex-offenders and vulnerable adults in the city.
He and his wife Anita founded 'Love Oxford' which gathers leaders and churches in the city.
He has a love for the whole Church and his interests include discussing issues of faith and doubt with those outside the Church.
He is the author of several books, most recently 'Epiphanies' (Hodder).
He is married to Anita who helped him find faith and is part of the leadership team at St Aldates.
They have four children and eight grandchildren.
;Revd Dr Simon JonesAfter serving his curacy at Tewkesbury Abbey in the Diocese of Gloucester, Simon came to Merton College as Chaplain and Fellow in 2002.
His role involves responsibility for the Chapel, where a Choral Foundation was established in 2008.
He also heads up the welfare team, and co-ordinates the College's financial support for students. His area of academic interest is liturgy, and he teaches at St Stephen's House as well as for the University Faculty of Theology and Religion. The author of several books on liturgy, he is a member of the Church of England Liturgical Commission as well as the Diocesan Liturgical Committee, and delivers some of the 'hard skills' training for curates in the Diocese. He is a trustee of Hymns Ancient and Modern and of the Alcuin Club. His hobbies include cooking and reading Scandinavian crime fiction.
;Revd Andrew MarsdenAndrew was born in London and has degrees in history and theology from the University of Oxford, and an MA in archaeology from the University of Birmingham. After ordination he served in two parishes in Portsmouth Diocese before taking up his present post as Vicar of St Sebastian's Church, Wokingham. He has been a member of the diocesan Bishop's Council for 10 years, and is Adviser on Spiritual Transformation to the Bishop of Reading. In this and other capacities he has been involved in offering spiritual support to the clergy of the diocese over a number of years. Andrew is a member of the Editorial Group for the Grove Booklets Ethics Series and regularly writes Bible Study notes for Scripture Union. He is married to Ros, and they have two children.
;Revd Geoff MaughanGeoff Maughan has served in the Diocese of Oxford since 1981, for 17 years at Christ Church Abingdon. From 1998-2007 he was Director of Ministry and Pastoral Chaplain at Wycliffe Hall Oxford and then Vicar of Cumnor where he serves today. For the Diocese he has helped to train training incumbents, been a moderator of the Portfolio Training Scheme, served as a work consultant, a trainer and tutor on servant leadership programmes. He is currently training as a Spiritual Director.
;Revd Dr Martin WellingsMartin Wellings has been Minister of Wesley Memorial Methodist Church and Superintendent Minister of the Oxford Methodist Circuit since 2008.
Born in Buckinghamshire, he read Modern History at Lincoln College, Oxford, and wrote a D. Phil.
on the Evangelical school in the Church of England, 1890-1930, before training for the ministry at Wesley House, Cambridge.
He served church appointments in Brackley and Kidlington before returning to Oxford.
He has been secretary and chair of Churches Together in Central Oxford, and has been Chair of Churches Together in Oxfordshire since 2009.
He is a member of the Faith and Order Committee of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, and a Methodist representative on the British Methodist-Roman Catholic Dialogue.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
;The Rt.
Hon.
Sir Tony BaldryThe Rt.
Hon.
Sir Tony Baldry has been Member of Parliament for Banbury for over 30 years, having been elected in the 1983 General Election.
He was a Minister for eight years, appointed to Government by Margaret Thatcher and then served in the Conservative Government throughout the whole of John Major's premiership.
He has been Second Church Estates Commissioner since June 2010, a position appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
It makes him the only Member of Parliament to be a member of General Synod.
He is a practising Barrister, Head of a commercial Set of Chambers in the Temple. Sir Tony was knighted for political and public services in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2012 and became a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council in November 2013.
Sir Tony will stand down at the next General Election after 32 years as MP for North Oxfordshire, after which he will become Chairman of the Church Buildings Council.