Julie Macauley from Radcliffe was Admitted and Commissioned as a Church Army Evangelist on Tuesday 18th July, in Sheffield Cathedral.
Julie is based at St Andrew’s, Radcliffe, north of Manchester. She leads a fresh expression of church at St Philip’s Community Centre, connected with both St Andrew’s and the Antioch Church Planting network. Julie also runs a Christians Against Poverty Job Club, allowing her to continue growing mission and evangelism in the community.
In the service, which was also attended by Revd Joanne Mckee of St Andrew’s, Julie was Admitted to the Office of Evangelist by the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, Assistant Bishop of Salisbury, under the authority and behalf of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. She was also Commissioned as a Church Army Evangelist.
Following 3 years of training, through the Church of England Common Awards scheme validated by Durham University, Church Army Evangelists are lay officers of the wider Church and their office is recognised across the provinces of the Anglican Communion.
The Ven. Peter Rouch, Church Army’s Chief Executive Officer said, “I feel enormously proud that we’re Admitting and Commissioning Julie and marking her calling and vocation as an evangelist.”
“I look forward to seeing how God will use her ministry to take forward the Church Army’s vision of seeing lives and communities empowered and transformed by the love of God in word and action.”
Church Army was founded in 1882 by Wilson Carlile, a London curate with a passion for sharing the Good News of Jesus with people who had never stepped foot in a church before. Carlile trained ordinary people to share the Gospel, most especially amongst those on the margins of society. The work of Church Army today builds on Carlile’s vision, work that has brought hope to millions.
Church Army Evangelists fulfil a variety of roles in the church: they are evangelists first and foremost, but they may also be chaplains, pioneers, ordained priests, youth workers, community workers, church planters, pastoral workers and trainers.
If you'd like to read more about how Revd Joanne and Julie have worked together to connect local communities, click here.