Lindisfarne Ushaw Lecture

We were delighted to welcome The Revd Dr Gavin Wakefield as our guest lecturer for the 2025 Lindisfarne Alumni Lecture.

His talk, “What did the saints do for us? Living in a storied landscape?” explored mission, memory, and meaning in the North East.

The lecture took place on Tuesday 21 October 2025 at Ushaw Historic House.

Now retired from full-time ministry, Gavin continues to support church life, mentor students, and serve as chaplain at Durham Cathedral. His academic interests include evangelism, Pentecostal origins in the UK, and the story of mission in the region. Passionate about connecting history with today’s concerns, Gavin brought insight and depth to this special evening.

View the Lindisfarne Ushaw Lecture 2025 flyer

We have enjoyed a wide range of guest lecturers and topics over recent years:

Lindisfarne Alumni Lecture 2024 Revd Dr Evie Vernon, “Chanting Down Babylon”

Lindisfarne Alumni Lecture 2023 Bishop Arun Arora, “A new Northern Saint” Charles Freer Andrews, “Christ’s First Apostle”

Lindisfarne Alumni Lecture 2022 The Ven Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, “How to eat Bread” – Criticising the sacred: reading the Bible with integrity both as Christians and Theologians

Lindisfarne Alumni Lecture 2021 Bishop Paul Bayes, ‘Northern Lights’ – what it means to do theology with a northern accent

Lindisfarne Alumni Lecture 2020 Bishop John Pritchard, ‘How is the gospel good news for 21st century Britain?’

Lindisfarne Alumni Lecture 2019 Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley, ‘Blessed, Broken, Restored?’ Brexit and the Language of Faith