The Revd. Canon Dr Alison J Gray was commissioned as the convocation Canon for Spiritual Development at the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Paris, France on 5th November 2023.

Having trained as a doctor and specialised in psychiatry Canon Ali was ordained priest in the CofE in 2010. She worked bi-vocationally inparishes in Worcestershire, UK, and in hospital as a consultant psychiatrist in Herefordshire, and served as Chair of the Medicine de la Personne British Group, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest group. She remains a senior Lecturer in the Medical School at Birmingham University and Fellow of the RCPsych.

In 2018 Canon Ali moved with her husband, Peter, from England to Germany because of Peter’s job teaching at Munich International School. They joined the church of the Ascension. In 2019 Canon Ali became a Priest Associate and member of COMB (the Commission On the Ministry of the Baptized). She and Peter have three adult children in the UK.

During covid time she trained as a Spiritual Director. In early 2023 Canon Ali began to chair COMB, became an Episcopalian, and later that year the Canon for Spiritual Development. This role is a new development in the convocation, and includes signposting people who are seeking the ministry of Spiritual Direction (Spiritual Accompaniment, a Soul Friend), identifying and sharing resources to help with spiritual growth, and organising programmes for the convocation, such as Praying Lent and the annual spring spirituality retreat. Canon Ali works closely with Bishop Mark, COMB and EICS (the European Institute for Christian Studies).

Martyn Percy is Professor of Religion and Culture at the University of St. Joseph Macao (with the Xavier Centre for Memory and Identity) and Provost Theologian at Ming Hua College, Hong Kong. He is a Professor of Theology at Research Professor at the Institut für Christkatholische Theologie, Theologische Fakultät, Universität Bern (CH), and a Senior Research Associate at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Martyn was Principal of Cuddesdon (Oxford) from 2004-2014, and then served as Dean of Christ Church Oxford (i.e., the Head of the College and Cathedral) until 2022. Martyn’s research and writing spans various disciplines, including theology, religion, education, cultural theory, anthropology, and sociology.  He has taught at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, working on moral and social values in public life. His work in contextual theology and ecclesiology delves into denominational performance, policies, practices, and theologies. He pays particular attention to the identity and development of churches in the 21st century.

With the Faculty of Theology (USJ) and its Xavier Centre for Memory and Identity, he undertakes PhD supervision for Southeast and East Asian students, working in research on ecclesiology and ecumenism. At the James Hutton Institute, his work focuses on religious responses to climate change, ecology, sustainability, and local and global challenges of the 21^st century.  In addition to his scholarly output, he also writes, preaches, and teaches on Christian spirituality. His sermons and meditations are published globally (several volumes with Canterbury Press), and his homilies and reflections have appeared in the UK secular press for over thirty years.  He also contributes to Prospect Magazine, The Guardian, and The Times.

Martyn’s professional contributions extend well beyond academia. He has held numerous roles in public life, demonstrating his ability to contribute to a variety of spheres These roles include Director of the Advertising Standards Authority, Adjudicator for the Portman Group (the self-regulating body for the alcoholic drinks industry), Commissioner of the Direct Marketing Authority, and Advisor to the British Board of Film Classification. His diverse expertise is further demonstrated by his role as a Home Office-approved advisor for ethical screening in research science, Chair of the University of Oxford’s Committee for Reviewing Donors (2017-2021), and Panel Assessor for Social Services in adoption and fostering.

Martyn holds a unique distinction in the theological world, as the only living theologian featured in Dan Brown’s 2003 bestseller The Da Vinci Code. This intriguing fact and other notable achievements led the journal Theology to describe him as “the British Theologian closest to being a missionary anthropologist”. His writings have been the subject of an academic study, Reasonable Radical: Reading the Writings of Martyn Percy (Pickwick Publishing: Edited by Ian Markham & Joshua Daniels, 2016). His book The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England will be published by Hurst in January 2025.

As Chief Welcoming Officer, Giulia Bonoldi works closely with many of the 23 congregations and institutions of the Convocation in training and building awareness of refugees and migrants in their midst, and ways to extend the Love of Christ to all. She is the administrator of Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP), which offers grants to Convocation congregations and congregations of our full-communion partners in continental Europe for work with refugees and migrants. She is also the Managing Director of the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, a ministry of St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome.