About Me

Hello! 

Thanks for checking out my website! I’m Suse. By day I wear two hats. I’m a biblical scholar and an Anglican vicar (or Episcopal priest, depending on which side of the Pond I find myself). See my academic page for more info on the biblical side of things and the sermons & talks page for some examples of the public side of my vicaring.

I grew up in Oxford, England, and I did something unusual for most Brits: I stayed in my hometown for my undergraduate degree. I studied theology at Oxford which began a love of biblical scholarship (and even then I was gravitating towards second Temple Judaism). I spent a few wonderful years in Leeds, working with teenagers and college students in a big Anglican church and then teaching secondary school in Bradford, where I trained as a secondary school teacher.

A couple years later, I studied for ordination at St John’s College in Nottingham. I never expected to get ordained, but if God tells you to do something it’s foolish not to go [I'm looking at you, Jonah...]. If you want to read more about my journey to ordination, I contributed to a chapter of this book about women in ministry. It was during this time I began my PhD, looking at Old Testament use of the Divine Warrior tradition and how it developed into the second Temple period and how that helps us understand similar language and imagery in Mark 13:24-25. 

The PhD took longer than my time at seminary, so it continued while I moved to the Wild West, got ordained and took up a role at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston. I served there for just shy of 9 years, overseeing all adult Christian education, the healing service and launching and leading the contemporary worship service, Riverway. 

In 2021 I had a sense that God would plant a seed in July of 2022. He did(!) and that led to taking a step back from ministry to prepare to move into a more academic role which would combine both my academic expertise and my ministerial experience. I took up that role at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, in January of 2024. You can find out more about it here.

Outside of work and ministry, I am married to a Texan, Stephen, and have been for over 10 fabulous years! We’ve spent most of that time living in Houston, Texas, which was never where I thought God would call me but I absolutely loved living in the American equivalent of Yorkshire (where I also lived for a time). Stephen and I have no kiddos, but we do have two wonderful dogs, Han Solo and Leia, a mutt and a black Labrador, who have never met a stranger.

From living in Texas, I have come to love Tex-Mex, real BBQ (which is absolutely brisket and not pork) and – despite the Gulf Coast being remarkably flat – also a love of rock climbing that has kept me sane (most days!). That said, I am enjoying being back in the country of sharp cheddar, a proper fry-up and a well-brewed cup of tea.

Well done on reading this far! If you still have questions about me or just want to say hi, feel free to send me a message.