Bishop Paul Hendricks

Bishop Paul is Auxiliary Bishop with pastoral oversight of SW London area of the diocese

“As a bishop and former Parish Priest, I have a certain awareness of parish life, the role of a priest and the pastoral and spiritual needs of people generally.

As a member of the Archbishop’s Council and with links with other diocesan agencies and commissions, I aim to help the Spirituality Commission to integrate with the mission of the Archdiocese.

As I am active in local and national ecumenism, I look for opportunities to work with other Christian denominations, which can be particularly fruitful in matters relating to Spirituality”.

Trudy Kilcullen

Trudy is from Holy Apostles Parish in Swanley and is CEO of a large Youth Charity

“Having worked within Southwark Diocesan Youth Service many moons ago, I have some understanding of Diocesan structures, faith development and of the needs of young people.

I believe that all who desire should have the opportunity to deepen their relationship with God; to explore Gods desire for them and to experience Gods consolation in their lives. To this end I completed an MA in Christian Spirituality at Heythrop College and trained in Spiritual Direction at London Centre for Spiritual Direction and St Bueno’s in North Wales. I am interested in leading prayer and reflection experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds”.

Kathleen O’Sullivan

Kathleen is from Holy Cross, Catford and Chaplain at Christ the King sixth form College

“I trained in spiritual direction on the Encounter course at the London Centre for Spirituality.

I bring the perspective of family life, being married with five children and two grandchildren.

I am particularly interested in creating space for spiritual conversation - especially with young people”.

Louise Carter

Louise is a member of the Hythe RC parish and is Mission Formation Lead for L'Arche UK faith communities with people with learning disabilities

“I am responsible for the oversight and delivery of formation to over 450 Arche members without learning disabilities. I also work within the RC Church and ecumenically with faith-based groups and individuals in the areas of vision development, leadership in a faith context and organisational development.  This work is underpinned by an MA in Pastoral Studies from Heythrop College, University of London and group work and group facilitation qualifications from the Kinharvie Institute Glasgow and the Gestalt Centre, London amongst other areas of development. I am also a practicing spiritual director ”.

Margaret Palladino

Margaret is part of the Catholic Spirituality Network and from Cathedral Parish of St George

“I have been a member of the Commission since its beginning and have acted as minute secretary for most of this time. Spiritual Direction has been a great part of my ministry for many years. I began my involvement with the Sisters of St Andrew and completed the 3 year Ignatian Spiritual Direction Course at Margaret Street. Responding to the enquiries for this ministry is a great privilege and we have a team of trained directors who offer the ministry in various parts of the Diocese. We also offer a supportive connection to the directors through regular email contact. My connections with the Bishops' Spirituality Group, Catholic Spirituality Network & the Retreat Association give us a link in the wider Community”.

CHris Chapman

Chris is a freelance writer, retreat giver, spiritual director & teacher in the field of spirituality from St. Thomas’ parish in Canterbury

“I am an associate tutor at St. Augustine’s College of Theology where I teach a module at degree level on different historical spiritual traditions. I have been accompanying people through spiritual direction for many years and am a guest director for individually guided retreats at St. Beuno’s. I worked for many years for the Anglican Diocese of Southwark as the diocesan spirituality adviser and coordinator of pastoral care training. I am the author of three spirituality books, all published by Canterbury Press: Seeing in the Dark: Perspectives on suffering from the Christian spiritual tradition; Earthed in God: Four Movements of spiritual growth AND Send my Roots Rain: Refreshing the spiritual life of priests

Sr Anouska Robinson-Biggin FCJ

Anouska is a Religious sister in Faithful Companions of Jesus and University Chaplain in the Archdiocese of Southwark

“As a member of the Spirituality Commission I bring the experience of my religious formation which took place in England, France, Ireland, Canada and the Philippines. I bring the experience I have as a spiritual director accompanying people in daily life and in a retreat setting. I have been trained in the Ignatian tradition by and with the Jesuits in Britain and Canada. As a university chaplain I love having the chance to walk with God's people and accompany them in a myriad of ways during their time at university. I long for every human being to know the love God has for them and for them to be able to become the person God desires and hopes they will be”. 

Fr Douglas Bull

Fr Doug is Parish Priest at St John Fisher, Bexley

“I was ordained for Southwark back in 1982 and have been appointed curate and parish priest in several parishes since then so I bring the perspective of parish leadership to the commission. I qualified in Youth and Community Work before leading our diocesan youth service and I have served on several diocesan committees over the years, so bringing an understanding of diocesan work also. I devote my energy within this commission to enabling as many parishioners as possible to enjoy opportunities to develop their spiritual lives. I am keen to combat the notion that spirituality is for “the same old few” or “the usual suspects”! I have found the spirituality of stewardship to be helpful in developing pastoral strategy in this regard. I trained as a spiritual director at St. Beuno’s Spirituality Centre.

Sheila Farmer

Sheila is from St Pius X Parish in Norbiton and represents the Kairos Retreat And Spirituality Centre in Roehampton.

“I am a Catholic single laywoman who has always enjoyed her faith and relationship with God. My desire has always been to help others know God’s love for them and to assist them in discerning His will for their lives; to discover their vocation. With this desire in my heart I trained as a Vocations Guide through the National Office for Vocations. Through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal I have given talks, led Days of Prayer, taken part in Life in the Spirit Seminars and the Alpha programme. In my working life I have always walked along side people whether in youth retreat centres or in schools as a School Chaplain and School Counsellor.

I trained as an Ignatian Spiritual Director at the London Centre for Spirituality. I am a member of the team at Kairos, where as a spiritual director, I walk alongside many individuals as they seek to discover and grow in a deeper relationship with God and a deeper prayer life, whether just starting out or having been on the journey for a long time”.

Sr Sigrun Gross

Sigrun is a Religious sister in the Congregation of Saint Andrew and lives in Lewisham, where they have a small spiritual centre.

“As member of my congregation I have lived in several different countries, and for many years I was involved in the formation and accompaniment of our young sisters. In France, for several years I  lived in our community near Taizé, where we work together with the Taizé Brothers for the meetings and accompaniment of young people. In Belgium, I was part of our community in “La Pairelle”, a Jesuit retreat centre where, together with the Jesuits and lay people, we are involved in spiritual direction and facilitating retreats and formation sessions in Ignatian spirituality. During my time in Belgium I was also a member of the diocesan service for adult catechumenates. At present I live and work with my congregation in our retreat centre in Lewisham, where we offer spiritual accompaniment, residential retreats and quiet days for individuals or groups. I am interested in everything that can help people in their searching for a deeper faith and spiritual life.

Teresa Keogh

As a member of the Commission Teresa has led on the development of Stewardship Spirituality

“I have worked in education all my life, variously a teacher, Deputy Headteacher, Principal Examiner and International trainer on English examinations around the world.

However, my passion, and I believe my mission, is one of bringing people into closer relationship with God. I studied for the MA in Christian Spirituality at Heythrop and trained as a Spiritual Director at the London Centre of Spirituality. I bring the experience of working at Diocesan level in two different Dioceses, both roles were within adult formation and it was a huge privilege to walk with people in parishes and facilitate prayer workshops, offering people experiences of different styles of prayer. I have watched that transformation in people when they are ‘drawn’ rather than ‘driven’ and how, through that, they are able to experience the love and compassion of God.”

Dr Mark Nash

Mark is the Director of the Agency for Evangelisation and Catechesis