Hello! My name is Jane Blackall. My ultra-compressed biography for social media purposes reads (as of 2023): Unitarian minister; carer; red/green; amateur philosopher/ethicist/theologian; armchair activist; process-ish panentheist; intermittent artist; demi/bi; cycling fan; fat.
My ‘day job’ is working as Minister with Kensington Unitarians, where I lead worship most weeks, and I facilitate small groups (mostly online) including ‘Heart and Soul’ contemplative spiritual gatherings and the ‘How to be a Unitarian’ course. In 2021 I completed my ministry training with Unitarian College and also my formation as a spiritual director with the London Centre for Spiritual Direction. Prior to this, in 2017, I gained a first-class BA in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics at Heythrop College. I am involved in various voluntary projects, most notably organising Hucklow Summer School, which is one of the things I am most proud to be associated with.
I previously had ‘another life’ working in academic research in the field of medical imaging and radiological sciences (I got my PhD at Guy’s Hospital, in the Computational Imaging Sciences Group, then did 5 years post-doc at King’s and UCL). I’m glad I had this experience – if only to prove I had the wherewithal to do it – but I’m also glad I chucked it in and held out for a way to do what I really love.
In between work, study, and mucking about on the internet, I like gardening, birdwatching, baking, photography, lifting increasingly heavy weights, lino printing, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, and watching the cycling and the Repair Shop on TV. Everything is interesting.