Our Minister
Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall
Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall (she/her) was appointed Minister with Kensington Unitarians in May 2023. She has been connected to the congregation since April 1999, first as a congregation member, then as an active volunteer, before joining the staff team in a support role in 2008, and becoming full-time Ministry Coordinator in 2021, to steer the church community through a time of transition.
Jane is positively evangelical about the transformative power of engagement groups, which are sensitively structured spaces for deep and authentic connection with ourselves, each other, and God. She created the first ‘Heart and Soul’ circles over a decade ago as a form of contemplative spiritual gathering where people can share deeply about their lives. Jane is increasingly energised by the potential of online spiritual gatherings to make our activities more accessible for those who find it hard to participate in traditional in-person services due to factors including disability, ill-health, neurodivergence, geographical isolation, work commitments, or caring responsibilities.
Jane has been very much involved in organising Hucklow Summer School, the annual Unitarian residential for adult religious education and spiritual development, since 2005. In recent years she has co-developed and co-facilitated LGBTQIA+ training on the theme of ‘Working on Our Welcome’, to improve the levels of awareness and sensitivity in our denomination around issues of gender, sexuality and relationship diversity, and to help make our congregations ever more hospitable. Jane also serves as a spiritual director, working with people from various Christian denominations, and those who are on the fringes of faith, or outside of the mainstream religious traditions altogether.
Prior to ministry training with Unitarian College (2018-2021), she gained a first-class BA in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics, at Heythrop College (2011-2017). Jane previously worked in academic research, in the field of medical imaging and radiological sciences, gaining her PhD in the Computational Imaging Sciences Group at Guy’s Hospital, King’s College London, back in 2002.
When she is not working (or glued to the internet) Jane loves gardening, birdwatching, baking, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and making art, and she is a fanatical follower of bike racing on TV.
You can get in touch with Jane via the Contact page.