Frances Young is Emeritus Professor of Theology, University of Birmingham, where she held the Edward Cadbury Chair from 1986 to 2005. She taught New Testament and early Christian studies in Birmingham from 1971. She was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1984, and regularly leads worship locally, as well as responding to preaching invitations from various denominations across the country. She has always endeavoured to bridge academia and the life of the churches, engaging particularly in ecumenical activities and conferences, including the World Faith and Order Conference in Santiago di Compostela in 1993. For 45 years she and her husband cared for a son born with profound learning disabilities, now in his fifties; Jean Vanier and the L’Arche communities have been an important influence.