Books by Margaret Withers

Margaret Withers took up her role as the Archbishop's Officer for Evangelism among Children in June 2001. Formerly, Children's Work Adviser for the Diocese of Rochester, she taught in several Inner London schools and for the Open University before becoming a Diocesan Children's Adviser in 1989. During her years as a Diocesan Adviser, she became heavily involved in providing training and support for voluntary children's leaders in parishes. In 1996, while Children's Officer for the diocese of Chelmsford, she established children's work as an integral part of Reader training as well as providing a similar input to several theological courses. The increasing demand for simple basic training for inexperienced leaders led to her writing a four-evening course for a group of parishes in 1998. This formed the basis of her book, Fired up! Not Burnt Out which was published under BRF's Barnabas imprint in 2001. She is also author of The Gifts of Baptism, Welcome to the Lord's Table and Where are the children? also published under the Barnabas imprint. Tim Sledge has a kaleidoscopic Christian story thoroughly embracing evangelical, charismatic and catholic traditions, so he is also able to fit in and communicate with people across the Anglican spectrum. Having grown up in a vicarage, he studied music at York and then worked for several years promoting music and arts festivals, including the York Early Music Festival, the York Mystery Plays, and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. During this time he was not actively part of a church community. One day he went to chapel for the first time of his own free choice and realised that there was something attractive about it that he had never before experienced. Gradually, his faith became renewed and he became involved at St Michael le Belfry Church in York. Slowly, a sense that he was being called to ministry grew. One day he was offered two attractive jobs in arts marketing. At the same time he was reading the story of David in the Old Testament. 'I just felt God calling me. The call grew and the desire for work in the arts declined.' He went to see the Diocesan Director of Ordinands and was selected for ordination within six months. Tim trained at Trinity College Bristol and became curate at St Thomas, Huddersfield, which he describes as 'a renewed Anglo-catholic church'. From there he moved to Luddenfoot as vicar where he worked closely with Stephen Cottrel. Tim has seen the fruit of his ministry at Luddenfoot with the publication of Youth Emmaus, which he worked on it with Stephen Cottrell, adapting the adult Emmaus course for his own youth group. Tim now works as Mission Enabler in Peterborough Diocese. He quotes Bishop Leslie Newbigin with approval: 'The only true expression of the Gospel is the group of people who believe it and live by it.'