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Meet the Tutors

Ros Stuart-Buttle is Director of Ushaw’s Educational Outreach and leads the Ushaw Online programme. Her professional background lies in Religious Education and Adult Christian Formation. She is a member of the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales Board of Religious Studies and has many years teaching experience at school, university and adult levels alongside parish and diocesan involvement with Arundel & Brighton and Shrewsbury dioceses as well as in New York where she lived with her family for four years. Her MA in Catholic Religious Studies is from St Joseph’s Seminary Institute of Religious Studies, Dunwoodie, Archdiocese of New York. Ros has been working in online teaching and learning since 2000 and joined the staff of Ushaw College in 2004.  She is currently teaching, researching and advising in the area of adult religious education and formation online. Contact Ros Stuart-Buttle at ros.stuart-buttle@ushaw.ac.uk

Helen Bamber originally comes from Lytham, Lancashire. Educated by the Sisters of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in Preston she later joined them.  She taught Classics and Religious Education in Blackpool and Birmingham and for some years was Chaplain to university students in Leeds.  Over the past few years she has been working at St Beuno’s Ignatian Spirituality Centre in North Wales as a member of the retreat team and recently studied at Milltown, Dublin for a diploma in Supervisory Practice. Now she is looking forward to being on the Educational Outreach Team at Ushaw College. Contact Helen Bamber at helen.bamber@ushaw.ac.uk 

Susy Brouard has been CAFOD's Justice Spirituality Facilitator for seven years and her job involves working nationally, encouraging people to see that working against injustice is part of their Christian faith. She has a special passion for promoting Catholic Social teaching and is currently undertaking doctoral studies in this area. Susy has worked with many different marginalised groups and also spent some years at Loyola Hall Jesuit Spirituality Centre giving retreats. She is a qualified movement and drama therapist and a massage therapist but doesn't have time to use these skills at the moment! As well as Catholic Social Teaching she also has a great passion for dancing of any kind. She spent a year in Chile in her youth(!), working alongside the sisters of Mother Teresa, and she has been lucky enough to visit CAFOD partners in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Nigeria.

Elizabeth Davies was appointed Marriage and Family Life Project Officer at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in 2003, working from home in the Midlands. She has been active in parish and diocesan family ministry since 1994 and holds an MA in Community Leadership (Family Ministry) from Regis University, Denver. She is also a trustee of FLAME, a member of the executive committee of Churches Together for Families and an online tutor for Ushaw College. In 2000 she co-founded the Bethany Family Institute as a resource for those engaged in family ministry and spirituality

Kit Dollard works in Adult Christian Formation as a member of the Pastoral Team at Ampleforth Abbey and in Middlesbrough Diocese. He is a member of the Bishops’ Councils for Liturgy and Evangelisation & Adult Formation and runs the Diocesan Catechists Formation Course. His special interests are ecclesiology, leadership, film & art and psychology and he is a Fellow of the IPD. He has an MA in Theology & Ministry from Durham and is co-author with Abbot Timothy Wright of “Doing Business with Benedict” published in 2002 by Continuum.

Brother Benedict Foy, born in St Helens, became a De La Salle Brother in 1963. After graduating from Manchester he became involved in education teaching in various Approved and Comprehensive schools particularly in Religious Education and Special Education. He was Director of St Cassian’s Centre (Youth Retreat Centre in Kintbury, Berks) for five years.  During a four year 'sabbatical' at Santa Clara University, California (of "Bend it like Beckham fame") he worked as a Resident Minister and did further studies in Counselling Psychology, Spirituality and massage! Since returning from the USA he has mainly lived in communities in London. He has been Chair of Governors and Governor of several schools and is a Trustee of the De La Salle Network of Schools in GB. He has worked (part-time officially) for almost ten years as a School Chaplain in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic setting and is also actively involved with on-going professional and spiritual development of teachers, governors and students across GB and Europe. In his spare time he is Chairman of the Croydon Deanery Youth Project which employs a full-time Deanery Youth Minister and is very involved with HCPT and Lourdes.  He also tutors part-time for an Australian online MA programme in Lasallian Management and Leadership and is involved with establishing a Religous Life Institute based at Heythrop College. He has increasing interests in the area of Faith and Science and Technology. 

Bro.Charles Gay FMS: I am Marist Brother from Scotland, born and brought up in Glasgow where I was educated by the Marist Brothers. After school I joined the Brothers and went through the usual stages of postulant, novice and temporary professed. The period of temporary profession coincided with University entrance exams and study for a degree in Economics and German. But this university period also coinicided with the Second Vatican Council. My first teaching post was 1965 and I became fascinated with the documents of the Council. After 4 years teaching I did specialist studies in Religious Education in Dublin and returned to Scotland for 13 years teaching RE and head of Department. I then moved to the Diocese of Westminster as Adviser in RE for 7 years followed by 8 years in the Diocese of Southwark. I trained as an Ofsted inspector and carried out statutory inspections in the Catholic schools. (Perhaps I should keep that quiet!) During this time in Westminster and Southwark I tutored the six core modules and two RE modules of the CCRS. My interest was always Theology rather than RE. I did a couple of degrees at Heythrop while in London (Christian Ethics and Canon Law) and eventually spent a most enjoyable five years teaching theology at a University College in Nairobi, Kenya. I returned to Glasgow last year to retire after 42 years in education ministry and am happy to put my reading at experience to the service of CCRS.

Frances Gilchrist is a retired Religious Studies teacher.  She and husband Eric have lived in Nunthorpe, in the Middlesbrough diocese, for the last 31 years and have 4 children and 2 grandchildren living in various parts of the UK.  They spent 3 years in Sasolburg, South Africa, with an inspirational Dutch Dominican priest where both were involved in parish ministry and catechesis.  Frances has a certificate in ecumenical theology as well as deepening her knowledge of Roman Catholic teaching throughout her career.  Leading pilgrimage groups to Lourdes for 15 years as well as travelling on holiday has widened her knowledge of the Church’s history, practice and development.

Joanna Hale is married to Paul with three children.  They have lived in Amersham for 16 years where she has become increasingly involved in catechesis.  Missioned as a catechist in the diocese of Northampton in 1998, and completing an MA in Contemporary Theology in the Catholic Tradition at Heythrop, London in 2004, she now concentrates mostly on adult formation.  Joanna is active in her parish and involved with a deanery-based course for parish catechists and with selection and training for the Permanent Diaconate.  She is secretary to the inter-diocesan committee for our diaconal formation programme for nine dioceses.  Joanna has been a tutor for Ushaw Online since 2006.

Alex Hargreaves retired from the RAF in 1997 with the rank of wing commander, having completed thirty-three years service. He then worked as a manager for a major North East based firm of solicitors and achieved the position of Director of Management before leaving to study Theology at Durham University. He gained a BA (Hons) in 2005 and was awarded a MA in Theological Research in 2007. His main focus of study is biblical theology, particularly the Old Testament and intertestamental text, and notably within that field the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is married with 3 grown-up children and lives with his wife and dog in a village in Swaledale near Richmond. Outside theology, his two main interests are motorcycling and hill walking.

Mary Hughes works with the Youth Ministry Team of Hexham and Newcastle Diocese and is Co-ordinator for Area Development which aims to encourage and help parishes and deaneries to develop a vision and programme for youth ministry. Originally from Leadgate, County Durham, Mary taught English at St.Joseph's Comprehensive School, Hebburn before working in Cameroon as a lay associate of the Mill Hill Missionaries. After her return to the U.K, she worked as a Parish Youth Co-ordinator in the Diocese of Northampton until 1998 when she returned to the North East. Mary was Chaplain at Our Lady and St. Bede R.C School, Stockton until July 2001 when she began working full-time with YMT.

Sr Maura McMenamin SND is a member of the congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame, currently living in Glasgow, having spent most of her professional career in the south of England.  Her background lies mainly in primary education, having served as head teacher and subsequently as Adviser and Inspector of RE in two southern dioceses where she had the opportunity of teaching CCRS to teachers, deacons and other members of her diocese. Her last full-time appointment was as Director of a Scottish RE Office where she set up a distance-learning project to support those living afar. Sister Maura has been tutoring for Ushaw Online since 2005.

Carmel Murtagh, presently living in London, though originally from Ireland.  Prior to moving to England she worked for seven years as a school chaplain in a co-educational secondary school in Dublin.  In the past she has  also been a teacher of Business Studies and worked as a Project Officer with the Irish Missionary Union. While working as a school chaplain she felt the need of some theological study and recently completed a BA Theology at Heythrop College, London.  She enjoyed that study so much that she is now doing an MA in Biblical studies part time.   She is a member of a religious congregation, the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, and is presently involved in congregational administration. She is really looking  forward to engaging with others about the Old Testament.

David Thomas has been in theological education for forty years. He received his doctorate in systematic theology in 1970 from the University of Notre Dame and have taught at various universities and seminaries over the years. For twenty years he directed a graduate studies program in family ministry and adult religious development in Colorado at Regis University. While teaching there, he came into contact with many students from England and Ireland. He now collaborates with Elizabeth Davies who heads the Bishops' project on "Celebrating Family" and with her, set up the Bethany Family Institute.