New Director of HeartEdge

I'm very pleased to see this excellent appointment and will be excited to see how HeartEdge grows and develops under Heather's leadership:

'St Martin-in-the-Fields is delighted to announce the appointment of Revd Heather Cracknell as Director of HeartEdge. Heather comes to us from three years as Head of Development for Fresh Expressions at Church House Westminster. She will begin her new role in June.

Heather was ordained as Norwich Diocese’s first pioneer minister, and has served in traditional and new church settings. Her experience of new housing, outer estate parish, suburban and city centre ministry allowed her to equip churches across Norfolk to engage in mission as a diocesan Mission Enabler. After this she joined the national church team to establish an initiative helping churches start new missional projects, and advising dioceses on how to develop a ‘mixed ecology’ approach.

She lives in Norwich with her family and enjoys writing, paddle-boarding as well as wild swimming in rivers and the sea. For obvious reasons her level of enjoyment supporting her local football team hasn’t been quite as high this past season.

HeartEdge was founded in 2017. It is an international, ecumenical movement for the renewal of church and society. It seeks to advocate the 4Cs – commerce, culture, compassion and congregational life. With 1500 members, it is a presence on four continents. Its founder director, Revd Jonathan Evens, who has built up the movement to international recognition, departs St Martin’s at Easter to become Team Rector of Wickford and Runwell in the Diocese of Chelmsford.

Heather says, ‘I’m excited to be joining HeartEdge and building on the excellent work Jonathan and the team have been doing. HeartEdge is connecting with great churches and organisations and I know we will be able to learn together how to be the church God is calling us to be in these unprecedented times. We will need courage to try new things, humility to learn from what doesn’t work, generosity to share what does and curiosity to notice what the Holy Spirit is doing in our world. I can’t wait to get stuck in.’

Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields says, ‘Heather brings an ideal range of skills, experience, imagination and vision to this role. It is one of the principles of HeartEdge that God gives the church everything it needs. I look forward to enjoying how Heather brings the HeartEdge movement and the church as a whole to moments of joy as we realise the truth of that conviction. This is a happy day for HeartEdge and everyone who looks to it for inspiration and encouragement.’

Bishop Tim Thornton, Chair of HeartEdge, says, ‘I am very pleased to welcome Heather to this new role with HeartEdge. She brings gifts of leadership and enthusiasm and a very impressive knowledge of pioneering ministry across a number of denominations. She is completely in alignment with the values of HeartEdge, and I look forward to being challenged and encouraged by her and working with her as part of the team taking HeartEdge forward.’"

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Mark Hollis - A New Jerusalem.