By Marie Papworth, Archbishop of Canterbury's Press Secretary
The Revd Dr Toby Howarth has been appointed to serve as Secretary for Inter Religious Affairs for the Church of England. This is a joint appointment by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Mission and Public Affairs Council.
Dr Howarth has long experience of working in inter religious relations, and is currently Inter Faith Adviser to the Bishop of Birmingham, alongside his parish work as Vicar of St Christopher’s, Springfield, a church in a majority Muslim area of the city. Toby was Vice Principal at Crowther Hall in Selly Oak where he also taught Islamic studies having previously spent five years in India where he carried out research on the subject of Islamic preaching.
Toby said:
"I am very much looking forward to working with the Archbishop and colleagues both at Lambeth Palace and in Church House to strengthen inter religious relationships and build on the work of understanding one another better across different faith traditions. The Archbishop of Canterbury has made an extraordinary contribution to inter faith relations, both nationally and internationally. He has built up strong friendships with leaders from different religious communities, encouraged important initiatives such as the national Christian Muslim Forum and has helped Christians and others to think through how as people of all faiths and none we can work together for the common good of our society. Having been involved from Birmingham over the last five years in the national Presence and Engagement process, I am also excited to be helping to take this process forward in encouraging local parishes particularly in multi faith contexts to be humbly confident in reaching out to share the love of God with their neighbours."
The Revd Dr Malcolm Brown, Director for Mission and Public Affairs for the Church of England said:
"This is a crucial appointment for the Church of England's mission - Christian relations with the other great world faiths is not one discrete topic among many but touches on almost every aspect of our engagement with social and political realities. Toby is a highly experienced practitioner with a clear grasp of the challenges facing the church at national level and of the particular opportunities and responsibilities of the Archbishop's role in building relationships between faith communities. He follows the Revd Guy Wilkinson who has made an enormous contribution to inter religious affairs on behalf of the Church of England and Toby is ideally placed to build on that work across the field. I very much look forward to working with Toby as part of the MPA team and in helping our work to link closely to the concerns of the Archbishop."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Biography of the Revd Dr Toby Howarth:
Toby Howarth was born in Kenya and went to school (though not at the same time as the Millibands) at Haverstock Comprehensive School in North London. He received scholarships to study at high school and university in the United States, including a summer teaching Afghan refugees in northern Pakistan. On coming back to Britain, he worked as a research assistant for the Revd Dr John Stott for two years before becoming a postman in the East End of London. After ordination training for the Church of England in Oxford, Birmingham and Uganda, combining Christian theology with an MA in Islamic Studies, he served in an inner city parish in Derby before moving to India with his family where they lived for five years and where he did research for a PhD in on the subject of Islamic preaching. Returning to Europe, he worked in inter faith relations in Rotterdam after which they came to Birmingham where he taught Islamic studies and served as Vice Principal at Crowther Hall in Selly Oak. In 2004 he took up parish work again as Vicar of St Christopher’s, Springfield, a church in a majority Muslim area of the city. In addition to the parish role, Toby is the Bishop of Birmingham’s Adviser on Inter Faith Relations. Toby is married to Henriette, who is also ordained in the Church of England, and they have three daughters.