Clara Rushbrook – Co-Principal             

Clara was brought up in a Christian family in north London. She first made a commitment to follow Christ at the age of 10, being baptised as a teenager at Harrow Baptist Church. She was a member of the first BMS Action Team to Jamaica before studying for a Bachelor of Divinity in Aberdeen. Clara spent two years working for Barnardos with children with social, emotional and behavioural problems while exploring a call to ministry. She trained for ministry and completed her PhD at Northern Baptist College.

She lives in Openshaw, in East Manchester and is a Team Leader with Urban Expression, an urban mission and church planting agency. Her background is in bi-vocational ministry, working in a variety roles including chaplaincy and as a Non-Executive Director of a mental health and social care NHS Trust, alongside journeying with a traditional congregation into new expressions of church.
 
For a number of years, Clara has served on both the BUGB Trustee Board and Council as well as on the Council and Peace Commission of the Baptist World Alliance.
 
Clara has a passion for enabling groups to use the pastoral cycle in theological reflection. She enjoys teaching theology, particularly through reflection on novels and film, and is committed to collaborative ways of working and leading. Her research interests are in contemporary and contextual theologies.
 
She is a published author and a long-standing writer for various Christian charities, worship and Bible study books and magazines. Her website at www.dancingscarecrow.org.uk specialises in the areas of inclusive and all-age worship resources, urban spirituality, community engagement and peace and justice.  
 
Clara has two children and enjoys the challenge of keeping up with their lives and interests from gaming to chess to dance and drama. Clara also enjoys crafts such as soap-making, tempering chocolate, felting and writing poetry.
 

Contact Details:

Email: clara.rushbrook@northern.org.uk