Bishop Paul has invited two clergy to join the College of Canons at Liverpool Cathedral. They are Rev Kip Crooks, Rector at St Peter's Woolton, and Rev Professor Daniel Jeyaraj, Daniel will be Canon Theologian.
Bishop Paul said "Kip and Daniel are both incredibly well respected and will make worthy Canons. Daniel’s achievements and distinguished career in academia will strengthen the theological learning and understanding in our cathedral and our diocese. Kip’s long service as parish priest and former Area Dean brings a deep pastoral understanding and wisdom that benefits us all. We pray for them both and look forward to the day we can install them as members of our College of Canons.”
About Rev Kip Crooks
I am married to Sue, and we have 3 adult children and 4 grandsons.
I was vicar at Christ Church Ince for 10 years and have been Rector at St Peter's Woolton since 2003. I have been Director of Group for Urban Ministry and Leadership (GUML), Area Dean of Liverpool South Deanery, Chair of Governors at 2 church primary schools in Wigan, and at present am a foundation governor at Bishop Martin School in Woolton.
I support LFC, love art and have exhibited drawings and paintings in the Cathedral. I was recently an extra in Danny Boyle's film 'Yesterday' playing the part of Father McKenzie!
About Rev Professor Daniel Jeyaraj
The Reverend Professor Daniel Jeyaraj was born and raised in a multi-religious and multi-cultural village in Tamil Nadu. After the death of his father, his mother sent him to join the School for Deacons at the Christian Mission Service, which cares for and educates orphan and semi-orphan children (1977–1983). Impressed by the selfless service of the caretakers, Jeyaraj decided to embrace Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. This turning to Christ kindled his intellectual quest to understand the relevance of Jesus Christ to his contemporaries. He joined the Union Biblical Seminary (UBS) in Pune and read for both the Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Divinity degrees (1984–1991). He voluntarily filled the vacancy, which the sudden death of his teacher for History of Christianity left. And the UBS formally appointed him as a Lecturer for History of Christianity and charged him to interpret this history from socio-cultural perspectives of India.
Simultaneously, he read for an MA in German Literature (Germanistik, an online course); he befriend two Indian teachers of the German language, who revealed to him a circle of fellow Indians, who viewed Christianity as a medium to ‘destroy’ local cultures and ways of life. Jeyaraj’s determination to find the reasons for such views convinced him the indispensable necessity to recover socio-cultural memories in the writings of Christian missionaries and make them available for further research. His pursuit took him to the Mission Archives of the Francke Foundations in Halle (Saale), Germany and there he identified manuscripts of Lutheran Pietist missionaries in Tamil, Telugu, German, English and Latin. Most of the Tamil and Telugu manuscripts are written on stripes of palm leaves.
While in Halle (Saale), he read for Doctor of Theology degree (1995) and wrote his dissertation on inculturation of the first Tamil Lutheran Church in Tranquebar (1706–1730s). On returning to Chennai (former Madras), he taught History of Christianity at Gurukul Lutheran Theological College (1995–2001). At that time, he read for the German Higher Doctorate Habilitation (Dr. theol. habil.) and wrote his dissertation on South Indian Religions. Thereafter he defended another doctoral degree in German Literature and examined the ethical impact of the Tamil people on Germans (1708). These cross-cultural and multidisciplinary academic engagements helped him to encourage his students in their discernment for service in the name of Christ.
In 2001, the Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey/USA invited him as their John McKay Professor of World Christianity; his new academic focus introduced him to the changed demography of Christians, whose representatives in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, for example, produced fresh theological thinking. In 2003, he joined the Andover Newton Theological School near Boston/USA and became their Judson-DeFreitas Professor for World Christianity. In the meantime, the Diocese of Tirunelveli, Church of South India, ordained him first as a Deacon and then a Presbyter. In 2008, he began his work at Liverpool Hope University as their first Professor of World Christianity and their Director of the Andrew Walls Centre for the Study of African and Asian Christianity. He is a licensed NSM at All Saints’ Stoneycroft in Old Swan, Liverpool and is one of the three Senior Pastors at Liverpool Hope University. His research, teaching and writings examine how people have been discerning and responding to God’s calling in the contexts of their societies and churches; they illustrate the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that still invites people to make informed Christian choices for their life and work.
eyaraj is married to Rev Dr Sheela Jeyaraj; they are blessed with three daughters Rebecca, Elisabeth and Ruth.
Honorary Canons at Liverpool Cathedral
Honorary Canons are those lay and ordained who make a particular contribution to the life of the church. They have few formal functions (apart from electing the Bishop, where they may only vote for the candidate nominated by the Crown) but much informal influence.
The College of Canons meets twice a year, and all members of the College will receive an invitation from time to time to contribute of their wisdom and experience. In our diocese all Area Deans become, by virtue of their office, a Canon while the Bishop has discretion to appoint others.