1. Revd Professor Dee Dyas

Revd Professor Dee Dyas explores the light of the Christian Gospel transforming the story of these islands, focusing especially on the way multiple mission initiatives established the Church in the North. In this opening address, we discover how ‘Light coming into darkness’ has continued to apply throughout the centuries but also that the task of mission and discipling the diverse populations of the North was anything but straightforward or easy. When we look back at the glories of Christian art, architecture, literature, music, and drama, we see the products of creativity, perseverance, and risk-taking in mission, and constant regrouping to find new ways of bringing faith to others. Bede saw the story of the Church in his own day as a continuation of the Gospels and the Book of Acts. Every conversion, every miracle, every holy life, was a sign that God was at work in what Bede called the 'uttermost edge of the world', just as the New Testament shows Him at work in Judea, Asia, Greece, and Rome. Over centuries, we see Gospel principles transforming life, learning, laws, and society in England and at the heart of this transformation is the centrality of the Cross and God’s offer of forgiveness and new life. Part of the Faith in the North project will therefore involve gathering and sharing multiple resources that will help us to explore, celebrate, and draw on our rich heritage of faith in the North.