People

General Council

General Council is the ruling body of SCM. The movement has a commitment to being student-led, which is why GC is made up predominantly of students. It is elected during the AGM which is normally held in June.

Convenor: Jelly Morgans

Hi, I am Jelly and for the past year I have been working at Sheffield University Chaplaincy. My involvement with SCM started in 2005 as I finished my undergraduate degree in history and theology in Birmingham, where I also chaired the university Anglican Society. Since then I have done a Masters in Religious Studies in Edinburgh. While there, I encouraged my church to become affiliated with SCM and gained lots of support for us :-) Now in Sheffield I support the local SCM group at the uni. I have also been involved with WSCF, attending two European conferences (in Hungary and Romania).
Things I like: chocolate, purple things, red wine, God, socks, candles, sleeping, silly action songs, and sunshine.
Things I don't like: cheese, being cold and mornings

Publications: Tim Stacey

Hi I'm Tim, a second year philosophy and politics student at York University. I've been on General Council for a year in the current communications portfolio. As part of this role I've been helping to look after Movement magazine by chairing the editorial meetings and set up the Movement change process. By this time next year there should be a new and improved Movement that is more closely connected to the movement: produced with the help of students and made to be more appealing to students.

International: Bryan Jackson

I am currently a second year medic at Glasgow Uni. We began an SCM group at Glasgow this year and it has been a great opportunity to develop a faith community for those of us like myself who maybe feel like they don't fit into the traditional university Christian scene or feel like it is missing something. I am very interested in the International aspect of the Movement and would like the opportunity to help develop these links further. As a Canadian student, I would like to especially work on developing our ties with the North American Movement, learning from some of the campaigns of the Canadian Movement and walking alongside the American Movement as they start up. I love the Biblical image of the Kingdom of God being a kingdom without borders and am passionate about international issues.

Events: George Walsh

I'm going into 4th year of medicine at Glasgow uni, having just finished an intercalated degree in Public Health. In my spare time I teach music to small children and collect funny postcards. If ecumenism can be considered a hobby, it's probably one of mine. I love SCM, and mashed potatoes.

Membership and groups: Andy Treharne

Hi, I’m Andy. I’m currently in my 2nd year of a PhD in Chemistry at Southampton University. I got involved with SCM in Southampton as a 2nd year undergraduate when the group was just starting up in 2005. I’ve been involved ever since, serving on the committee as vice president for 3 out of the last 4 years and drinking a lot of tea. I’m keen to work closely with the staff team to develop and implement strategies to enable the movement to grow as well as looking after our existing membership. Having had first hand experience of the regionalisation project, I’d like to work hard to help SCM develop and build on this work in the future.

Media and communications: Charlotte Thomson

Hi, I'm Charlotte. Although I am just finishing my first year in French with Culture, Society and Communications, I have been involved in MethSoc at The University of Birmingham for nearly four years. My role on the committee is Publicity Rep, which involves thinking up new ways of publicising in order to have a presence on campus - it is important to us that students know that we are there to support them. When I am not studying or at MethSoc I work part-time at Birmingham Cathedral and my jobs include making the publicity and running our website. I hope to have the opportunity to bring the skills gained from my work with the Cathedral and MethSoc (and maybe my degree. . .) to SCM.

Policy and campaigns: Holly McGuigan

Hi, I'm Holly. I have just returned to medicine at Glasgow University after intercalating in public health so I'm very excited about accessorising with a stethoscope again. I'm short, Irish and have big hair. In my spare time I make radio programmes with GRF Christian radio and sing in a choir. I enjoy talking, singing and making noise. I'm passionate about social justice, music and cake.

Policy and campaigns: Hattie Hodgson

Hattie is a student at the University of Leeds and is involved in Leeds Chaplaincy's Cafe Church.

Staff

There are three full-time members of staff working at SCM central office in Birmingham: National Co-ordinator, Links Worker and Administrator. Currently the staff are:

Hilary Topp (National Co-ordinator)

Hilary is SCM's new National Co-ordinator - she started work for SCM in mid-July 2009. Her role is to manage the staff team and SCM's strategic vision. She also has responsibilities for fund-raising and networking. Before coming to SCM she worked for Pax Christi, the International Catholic Peace Movement, as their Education Worker. She has also taught science in secondary schools in the UK, and in Tanzania with Voluntary Service Overseas. As an undergraduate, many years ago, she studied Environmental Science, and when she returned from Tanzania she did an MA in Development Studies and Education.

Hilary is a Quaker, with strong ecumenical tendencies. She enjoys walking, camping, cycling, holidays, reading, painting, catching up with friends and playing her flute.

Contact Hilary: co@movement.org.uk

Rosie Venner (Links Worker)

Rosie is SCM’s Links Worker and has been at SCM since October 2007. She has the awesome responsibility of supporting the network of groups and chaplaincies which are affiliated to SCM. She spends a great deal of her time on trains going to make contact with individual groups and chaplains, offering ideas and leading workshops on all kinds of issues. She has overall responsibility for organising events for students and for linking members to the work of the movement at a national level.

Before becoming Links Worker, Rosie worked for the Diocese of Lichfield. At university she studied African Studies and English, and spent most of her time campaigning and drinking tea.

Contact Rosie: links@movement.org.uk

Matt Gardner (Administrator)

Matt joined the team in August 2007 as SCM's Administrator. His role is to ensure the smooth running of the office, and to deal with the administrative side of the events. In practice this includes keeping financial records and membership databases up to date, answering the phone and remembering the time of last post!

Matt has previous experience on General Council and SCM's Policy Group. He has studied music and theology and used to help run a community cafe.

Contact Matt: scm@movement.org.uk

Regionalisation scheme

In the wider SCM community, as part of our pilot regionalisation scheme, we also have three lovely people who work in different parts of the UK. They are employed by university chaplaincies as ecumenical chaplaincy assistants but they spend some of their time either as SCM regional workers or writing and commissioning resources.

Joe Nagle (North East Regional Worker)

Joe is based at the Universities Chaplaincy in Leeds and has been in post since August 2008.
"I am the new Regional Link Worker for the North East. What this means for the North East remains to be seen but I am very excited about taking on the role. I have recently graduated from Leeds University after studying English Literature. My work background includes Christian and secular youth work, retail and administration. My interests range from musical theatre to rock climbing via film, rambling and you-tube. I have always been a Christian and my faith rests in the idea that God loves us all because, and not despite, of who we are.

In my role as Regional Worker I hope to create and solidify a sense of community among SCMers in the North East. I will keep the North East informed and connected by being a general contact for anyone who has something to say. I will also come and visit groups and individuals so that you get to know who I am and what I am doing for your region."

Contact Joe: northeast@movement.org.uk

Tom Tarling (South Coast Regional Worker)

"Hello there, I'm the new Regional Worker for the South, which is a pretty large area, covering everyone from Reading to Redruth. I'm based in Southampton, where, when wearing my other hat, I'm the Chaplaincy Assistant. This means when I'm not out and about visiting SCMs I can be found in the chaplaincy working hard at drinking tea and talking rubbish.

I have just graduated with a degree in Physics, from Southampton, when I spent most of my time in the chaplaincy with SCMers. I was on the SCM committee for two years, giving me an insight into running SCM groups that I hope to share. But most importantly being involved in SCM has enriched my life, and I see my main goal as regional worker to strengthen our links and encourage new links, so that more students can experience SCM for themselves."

Contact Tom: south@movement.org.uk

Aileen Few (Resource Worker)

"I'm the new Resource Worker for SCM and also chaplaincy assistant at St Peter's Chaplaincy, Manchester. I finished an MA in Cultural History in September at the University of Manchester and am now settling in the lovely-but-rainy North West. I am keen singer and my musical tastes range from Taizé to hip-hop. I also have a big interest in social justice issues, especially women's rights, anti-racism and climate change campaigning.

Although I've always believed in God and sang in an Anglican church choir as a teenager, I really became committed to following Jesus in my second year of university. I now worship at St Peter's and am not part of a specific denomination, but have experience of Quaker, Anglican, ecumenical and Charismatic church environments and worship. I strongly believe in supporting Christian unity and celebrating our diversity.

As SCM's resource worker my job is to (you guessed it) produce resources for SCM members to use. These range from 'how to' guides to bible studies, prayer resources to workshops. I'm currently working on putting together a resource pack for SCM groups to use. If you have any ideas or requests I'd love to hear from you!."

Contact Aileen: resources@movement.org.uk