Dr Rebecca Watson appointed Tutor and Director of Studies

It is my great pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr Rebecca Watson to the position of Tutor and Director of Studies. Rebecca has a wealth of experience as a theological educator and scholar, and will be a great addition to the staff team and the community.

Rebecca is currently a research associate at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, where she is working on a project on the sea in the Bible, together with an oceanographer. Alongside that, until recently, she was Dean of Studies at St Hild College, the ministerial training college for Yorkshire and the Midlands. Before that, from 2010-13, she was actually Director of Studies at ERMC when we were based at Wesley House. So Rebecca is not only very experienced in theological education but also familiar with ERMC.

Rebecca began her academic studies in Oxford, with a BA and DPhil there, and a spell in Durham where she took an MA. Her main interest is in Old Testament, though she has been known to teach and write a bit on the New Testament too. Her research focuses on the Bible and Ecology, and on the Psalms, though she also has a book on Genesis 1-11 coming out shortly.

Rebecca writes that she lives in the outer reaches of the Peterborough Diocese, in a benefice near Market Harborough, where her husband is vicar, though before that, they were based in Suffolk, so she is looking forward to finding an excuse to head out under the big sky again. She has two children (by the time she arrives, she’ll be able to say two teenagers, but not quite yet) and two mad border terriers.

Rebecca is going to join us in time for the summer school and the new academic year. I am very much looking forward to welcoming Rebecca into our community and to working with her.

Alexander Jensen