Introducing a new member to the Provincial Board

I was born and grew up in Greater Manchester, and I am married to Janet – we have three adult children, two daughters-in-law, one son-in-law, and two young granddaughters.

Baptised as an infant at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Droylsden, when I was five or six years old, I began attending Fairfield Moravian Church Sunday School, and was confirmed at Fairfield when I was 16 years old.

Leaving school that same year, I first worked in administration at Manchester Social Services but then began training for ordained ministry in the Moravian Church in 1984 at Northern College in Manchester. I spent a year studying at the Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, and was ordained as a Deacon at Fairfield Moravian Church in 1989.

This is my second time serving on the Provincial Board. From 2010, I served for four years as a non-stipendiary member of the Provincial Board. From 2010 onwards, I have been a Provincial Ecumenical Officer, and presently also the Chair of the Unity Committee on Theology (UCOT).

Over the years, I have served on two Provincial Standing Committees: the Faith & Order & Ecumenical Relations Committee, which I chaired for a period of time, and the Mission & Society Committee. I have also previously served on two committees formed to organise events to celebrate important dates in Moravian Church history.

At this present time, the Province faces many challenges, including a declining membership, aging congregations, a reduction in the number of ordained ministers, and increasing financial costs. As a Province, we need to face these challenges by asking the difficult questions and prioritising those aspects of the life of our church that are central to God’s mission, and letting go of those things that are not. The important question is: are we willing to do this?

Another extremely important part of the Provincial Board’s work at this time is the moving of Church House, from Muswell Hill, in London, to the Robinson Building, in the Fulneck settlement, in Leeds, including all that that move involves, in terms of staff changes, the sale and renovation of property, etc.

There is, also, the important matter of the appointment of a General Secretary for the Province, and the change to the membership of the Provincial Board that will take place in 2028. As you may be aware, following Provincial Synod 2028, there will only be one full-time stipendiary member on the Provincial Board, rather than two.

There were, of course, many proposals passed at this year’s Provincial Synod that will have to be considered and implemented by the Provincial Board, along with the Provincial Standing Committees, during this inter-synodal period.

It is an honour to be elected to the Provincial Board. With my past experience and God’s help, I pray that I will make a valuable contribution to its work.

Br Philip Cooper

Provincial Board

In the next issue we will hear from another new Provincial Board member elected at this year’s Synod: Sr Carmen Warner.