The Wycliffite

THE
WYCLIFFITE
WELCOME…
Welcome to the first edition
of The Wycliffite – an annual
digest of news about what’s
going on at Wycliffe, and in
the lives and ministries of
those who trained here. It’s
been wonderful to be able to
welcome many of you back
to your old college for two
recent reunions – it is deeply
humbling and encouraging to
meet people who have gone
out from here to live lives of
faithful and fruitful ministry.
As one wag put it, ‘college
reunions are where other
alumni are so old that they
don’t recognise you!’
Jonathan Kirkpatrick
Wycliffe is in good heart. As you will see, we are currently celebrating some impressive
exam results. Ministry involves much more than the mind, and Wycliffe is about much
more than just academic learning. But Jesus did call us to love God with all our mind,
and our position as a Permanent Private Hall of the University gives us the responsibility,
I believe, to make a case for the Christian Faith at the highest and most rigorous level. As
Thomas Traherne put it, ‘To think well is to serve God in the Interior Court’. And, as we are
not dualists, we have also been celebrating the sporting success of many of our students.
Time and motion wait for no one, as the late, great Reggie Perrin said, and sadly we have
been saying Goodbye to a number of wonderful colleagues, such as Simon Vibert, our Vice-
Principal, who has been inspiring our students to preach and to lead well, for over a decade.
He will be very much missed. Conversely, we have made some fabulous new appointments
recently, who have enriched our life together and the training we are able to offer.
Llantwit Major
This year, I visited the little Welsh village of Llantwit Major, which is the site of this
country’s first theological college. It was founded towards the end of the fourth century
and continued until it was destroyed by the Vikings in 987. Its alumni list is rather
impressive: St Patrick, St David, Gildas the historian and Taliesin the bard – people who
were used by God to transform these islands with the gospel. It is my passion and my
prayer that Wycliffe’s old members may have a similar impact in our generation, for we
have the same task to undertake again.
I hope you enjoy this first edition of The Wycliffite, and I look forward to seeing you at
a future reunion.
With my best wishes and prayers,
Michael
Revd Dr Michael Lloyd
PRINCIPAL