Our Alumni
Since our foundation in 1959 as the Southwark Ordination Course, St Augustine’s has had the great privilege of teaching and nurturing the formation of thousands of students and ordinands.
We are proud of and continue to value our alumni, who have taken their learning and understanding into their communities and their working lives. Many have even chosen to return to us to continue their studies.
Meet Bishop Sarah Mullally, St Augustine’s alumni
Before she was The Right Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, Sarah Mullally was an ordinand studying part-time at St Augustine’s (then known as the South East Institute for Theological Education) from 1998 to 2001.
Being able to fit her studies around being a mother and working as a nurse meant that Sarah could embrace her own learning and formation. She cites her student experience as enabling her to effectively minister to those with differing theological positions.
Since being ordained in 2001, Sarah has become a beacon of leadership and spiritual guidance in the Church. Sarah is currently an Honorary Fellow of St Augustine’s and the college could not be more grateful for her ongoing support as an alumni.
Stories from St Augustine’s alumni
Over the last five decades, alumni of St Augustine’s have successfully completed their ordination training, been accepted as Lay Readers, or graduated with a degree in theology.
Here, a handful of our alumni kindly share their stories with us, reflecting on their experience as ordinands and where their journeys after ordination have led them.
From “Why me?” to “Why not me?” – a slow discernment process: Sarah’s Story
Sarah came to study with us as part of her ordination training through the Chichester Diocese; she graduated in 2015. “My journey to ordination training was one that began with a suggestion from my Rector [...]
Meet the Chair of Trustees (and alumni): Jonathan
The Revd Jonathan Croucher is Vicar at Christ Church Gipsy Hill in London, and Area Dean of Lambeth South in the Diocese of Southwark. He has been on the Board of Trustees for St Augustine’s [...]
Meet the alumna: Daphne
Daphne Clifton is an Executive Coach, Associate Speaker for the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity and former student of St Augustine’s, ordained in 2017. She has been on the Board of Trustees for St Augustine’s [...]
Meet the alumna: Sarah
Sarah is a former student at St Augustine’s, and was ordained as a Lutheran minister in 2016. We asked her to tell us a bit about her experience as a Lutheran student at St Augustine’s, [...]
Meet the curate: Alex
Alex is a former student at St Augustine’s, and is currently non-stipendiary curate at St Giles Cripplegate, in the City of London. We asked him to tell us a bit about what life is like [...]
Emma Ham-Riche, Assistant Curate in Chichester Diocese
‘We are becoming a very different sort of Church. And that’s our challenge right now, to become a different sort of Church. A challenge I feel equipped to face because I trained at St Augustine’s, [...]