Catherine Bird

Having previously worked in social policy and research in the voluntary sector, Cathy was ordained as a Presbyter in the Methodist Church in 1997. A Londoner to the core, she has worked in Tottenham, Kings Cross, and Marylebone (where she also served as part of the ecumenical Chaplaincy Team at the University of Westminster.)

She is currently Superintendent of the Methodist Church in the London Borough of Hackney, where, among many things, she co-ordinates the movement to have Hackney accredited as a ‘Borough of Sanctuary’ as part of the national ‘City of Sanctuary’ campaign.

Cathy served for 15 years as part of the World Methodist Council during which she Chaired its Committee for Social and International Affairs and is an experienced Spiritual Director and leader of retreats, including in 2013,  for  Embrace (formerly Biblelands). Cathy is an experienced writer of liturgy and hymns and her work has been used widely in various forms of worship and published in ‘The Preacher’ (Journal of the College of Preachers), ‘Magnet’ and the Methodist Recorder. She is currently the writer of study material for the story telling initiative ‘Applecart’.