Who is the Free Churches Moderator Revd Helen Cameron?
REVD Helen Cameron became the Free Churches Moderator in April 2022.
She is also the president of Churches Together in England.
Who is the Free Churches Moderator Revd Helen Cameron?
Helen was born in North Yorkshire and both her parents were local Methodist preachers.
She trained as a physiotherapist in Edinburgh with a specialism in stroke rehabilitation, and while working in York she was a candidate for the ordained ministry.
Her first ministerial appointment was at Longbridge and Frankley.
The church in Frankley was a Local Ecumenical Partnership with local churches working together.
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From 2015 -2017 she was Assistant Secretary of the Methodist Conference.
The Methodist presbyter serves as Chair of the Northampton District and from September 2022 will also be Chair of the Nottingham & Derby District
Helen spent many years in ministerial formation as a staff member of the Queen’s Foundation.
Helen took up the position of Free Churches Moderator on April, 1, 2022, taking over the post from Revd Dr Hugh Osgood who had held the post since 2014.
The Free Churches Group is made up of 26 denominations which “seek to promote faithful Christian witness in the public square”, according to its .
It was founded in the 19th century when a number of congregations broke away from the Church of England.
The 26 member denominations are: the Methodist Church, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the United Reformed Church, the Salvation Army, the Assemblies of God, the Congregational Federation, the Baptist Union of Wales, Christ Apostolic Church, Church of God of Prophecy, the Church of The Nazarene, Churches in Communities International, the Council of African & Caribbean Churches UK, the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion, the Fellowship of Churches of Christ, the Free Church of England, the Free Methodist Church, the Independent Methodist Churches, the Joint Council of Churches for All Nations, the Moravian Church, the New Testament Assembly, the New Testament Church of God, the Old Baptist Union, the Order of St Leonard, the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the Union of Welsh Independents and the Wesleyan Reform Union.
The idea is to use local churches to nurture social cohesion in communities.
The FCG engages “with issues of good governance for all, care for the poor, for matters of social justice and the insistence that quieter voices should be heard, and not ignored,” according to the website.
As the Moderator Helen also serves as one of the Presidents of Churches Together in England, maintaining links with a number of other key organisations.
What is the role of the Free Churches Moderator?
Revd Helen Cameron is the 61st Moderator of the Free Churches.
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The Church Moderator fulfils a neutral role when presiding at regular and special called business meetings.
The Moderator will work to establish a common voice for the group and be the focal point of its public presence helping to maintain and strengthen links with other key organisations not just religious ones but such groups as Prisoners Abroad.