CEEC announces the appointment of the Rt Revd Keith Sinclair, currently Bishop of Birkenhead in the
Diocese of Chester, as its National Director.
Bishop Keith’s retirement from the See of Birkenhead in March 2021 was announced earlier this month.
He will assume this new role on 27 April 2021, the 100th anniversary of the birth of CEEC’s founder,
the late Revd Dr John Stott CBE.
The appointment of a National Director represents a significant development in the level of CEEC’s
activities in terms of CEEC’s ability to engage with the issues facing the Church of England from the
perspective of evangelical Anglicans who subscribe to the Authority of Scripture and the historic
formularies of the Church.
For the Church of England, this is a time of both great challenge and opportunity. However, it would
be wrong to ignore the fact that theological differences and tensions exist within the Church which
threaten to fracture the life and witness of parishes and dioceses up and down the country. For this
reason, CEEC believes that this is an appropriate time to invest in additional personnel resources to
ensure that traditional Christian teaching, as found in Scripture, is heard as clearly as possible
through the mission and witness of evangelical Anglicans. It is noted that such evangelical Anglicans
represent a very significant portion of Church of England weekly attendance.
As National Director, Bishop Keith will lead a staff team covering strategy & operations,
communications and administrative support. This team will draw upon the services of consultants,
advisers and volunteers from across the evangelical constituency, under the governance oversight of
the CEEC Board of Trustees, including the President and Chairman.
In welcoming Bishop Keith’s appointment, the President of CEEC, the Rt Revd Julian Henderson,
Bishop of Blackburn, said: “I am delighted to welcome Keith as our first National Director for many
years. Keith and I have long worked together as episcopal colleagues, and I know that he will be a
National Director whose heart’s desire is for the Church of England to be strengthened through the
clear teaching of mainstream Christian doctrine, as found in Scripture, and thus be equipped for the
re-evangelisation of England.”
In addition, the Chairman of CEEC, the Revd Hugh Palmer, commented: “Bishop Keith’s leadership
of CEEC will undoubtedly be characterised by his habitual graciousness, underpinned by a deep love
of Jesus Christ and the Scriptures. He has always been willing to stand firm and give a clear account
of his faith, and I thus have every confidence that he is just the person we need as our National Director
at this challenging time for the Church of England.”
In accepting his appointment as CEEC’s National Director, the Rt Revd Keith Sinclair said: “I am
delighted and humbled to be afforded the opportunity to contribute to the ministry of CEEC at this
critical time for the Church of England. I thank God for our Anglican inheritance which I believe is a
rich expression of the Apostolic faith, taught in the Scriptures, which was once for all entrusted to
Christ’s church. My over-riding objective will be to ensure that CEEC affirms our belief in the truth and
goodness of this inheritance, embraces it as a gift from God our Father for the flourishing of all
humanity, and that a deeper commitment to evangelism and discipleship will be a consequence as we
serve Christ together in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Notes to editors
CEEC was first created by John Stott to provide a “collective” evangelical voice within the Church of
England, was registered as a UK charity in December 1969 and incorporated in September 2003.
CEEC exists to provide for the continuing need for an overarching group to which evangelical
organisations, networks, institutions and churches can belong, based on common understanding of
the Christian faith and its Anglican expression, and united by a common vision to promote and maintain
orthodox evangelical theology, ethics and liturgy at the heart of the Church of England. DEF’s
(Diocesan Evangelical Fellowships) are the de facto representative bodies of CEEC in each diocese.
CEEC aims to encourage evangelism, bible-based and Christ-centred formation of discipleship,
evangelical leadership within the Church of England, and evangelical unity within and outside
Anglicanism.
Evangelical networks which are member organisations of CEEC include Church Society, CMS, CPAS
Crosslinks, Fulcrum, Junia Network and New Wine.
