The Executive Committee is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Slade has been appointed as Chief Officer of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. She will join us on 18 March 2019 and then undertake a full induction programme to familiarise herself with the national movement and our key external partners.
 
Speaking after the announcement Elizabeth said:
 
"I'm delighted to be taking on the role of Chief Officer in March. 

When I joined the Unitarian congregation at Newington Green seven years ago, it felt very strange to be walking voluntarily into a church, and I had no idea that community and spirituality were things that I would come to value so highly in my life. The experience led me to leave my career in senior management in the healthcare industry, first to explore the role that community plays in people's health, and then to a leadership role at Sunday Assembly, a global network of secular congregations, and more recently in co-creating pilgrimages that mix literature, landscape and sacred reading practices. 

Through this experience, I've come to understand very clearly the hunger in our increasingly secular culture for meaningful connection, belonging, and community. I see that Unitarianism, with its open-minded, non-dogmatic, non-hierarchical ethos, as well as its rich history and track record for social justice, is in a unique position to welcome in many more people who are feeling this hunger. 

I'm looking forward to listening to and learning from the wider Unitarian community, and working together to help the movement to thrive."