Revd Dr Alison Walker, MChem, Grad Dip, MA, PhD

Interim Tutor (Maternity Cover)

 

A bit about me

 

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I grew up on a small farm in Shropshire, attending my local rural church, cementing my love of rural ministry and desire to be attentive to the needs of the farming community. My vicar and his wife led a thriving “Youth Church” that was hugely formative for me, bravely taking the group to New Wine every summer and encouraging us into leadership roles within the church. I studied Chemistry at the University of Oxford, where I met my husband Paul, a fellow chemist. During this time I discerned a call to ordained ministry with Hereford Diocese and we moved to Bristol in 2014. I began my ordination training at Trinity College, while Paul embarked on his PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Bristol.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Trinity, forming life-long friendships and coming to a deeper appreciation of the breadth of the Anglican tradition. What I did not anticipate when I started at Trinity was how much I would love studying theology—it became (and still is!) the predominant expression of my faith. The faculty at Trinity encouraged me to consider fast-tracking my MA so that I could begin a PhD, which I started in 2016. My research focused on the work of Willie James Jennings, attending to a theology of race and place. My work offers an assessment of the Anglican parish in the Church of England, applying the theology of Jennings to discern whether the parish and parish church can be a place of joining and belonging in the face of social exclusion, racism, and territorial claims on the parish.

I returned to Hereford Diocese for my curacy in 2018, serving in a rural team of fourteen churches in South Shropshire. This ministry was wide-ranging including extensive funeral ministry, chaplaincy to the farming community, supporting the church environment group, and preparing candidates for confirmation.

I am thrilled to be returning to Bristol and Trinity College as I seek to follow God’s leading in a continued passion for theological education. In our spare time we are avid Crossfitters, love cooking and eating out, and enjoy hill-walking with our cocker spaniel Oscar.

 

Areas of interest

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My predominant research interests include the theology of Willie James Jennings, a theology of land and place, theology and race, the Anglican parish, liberation theologies, the doctrine of creation, ecotheology, and New Testament and theology.

 

Conference Presentations

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• ‘“All who believed were together and had all things in common”: The Use of Scripture in the Theology of Willie James Jennings.’ Seminar Paper presented via Zoom at the annual meeting of the British New Testament Society, University of Durham, Durham, UK, 20th August 2021
• ‘The Anglican Parish: A Place for Joining?’ Paper presented via Zoom to Trinity & Bristol Baptist College Postgraduate Research seminar, Trinity College Bristol, Bristol, UK, 22nd April 2021
• ‘The Beauty of Icons: Redeeming our Gaze of Male and Female.’ Paper presented to annual Trinity & Bristol Baptist College Postgraduate Research conference, Trinity College Bristol, Bristol, UK, 19th June 2019
• ‘Baptism as Disruptive Sacrament: A Journey Towards a Diverse Body.’ Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Theology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, 9th April 2019
• ‘Plenary Response to Professor Willie James Jennings’ paper “Reframing the World: Toward an Actual Christian Doctrine of Creation.”’ Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Theology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, 26th April 2017

 

How to get in touch with me

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Email me on alison.walker@trinitycollegebristol.ac.uk