Officer for Ecumenical Development and Relations appointed
22 June 2022
Churches Together in England (CTE) is delighted to announce the appointment of Doral Hayes to the role of Principal Officer for Ecumenical Development and Relations, commencing in September 2022. Doral’s focus will be to inspire and encourage ecumenical work at a local, intermediate (county or city) and national level.
Doral is currently Ecumenical Facilitator for Churches Together in Hertfordshire working with both local and regional church leaders to support worship and service together across the county. For the last nine years, Doral has been Executive Development Officer for the Association of Interchurch Families, working in the UK and internationally to support and advocate for interchurch couples and be a voice in the churches for the opportunity they present. Formerly both a former Trustee of Churches Together in England and the Chair of CTBI/CTE Bodies in Association, Doral is currently a member of the English and Welsh Anglican Roman Catholic Committee and the CTBI Writers Group for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
“I am both delighted and humbled to have the opportunity to serve the churches in this way as they journey together towards greater unity. I look forward to working with the great team at CTE, as well as colleagues across England, and I am grateful for all the different experiences that God has used to bring me to this place of service,” she said.
Chair of Churches Together Hertfordshire, Rev Dr David Chapman said “Regional church leaders in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire greatly enjoy working with Doral. However, we have always recognised her potential to fulfil a senior role in ecumenism… I am confident that she has the necessary gifts, skills and experience to be an effective representative of Churches Together in England.”
Doral will take up her post in the autumn and succeed CTE’s current Principal Officer for Intermediate Ecumenism, Governance Support and Resources, Jenny Bond, who is taking early retirement.
Doral is a committed ecumenist who, having been raised in an interchurch family, brings a wide range of personal and professional ecumenical experience. Prior to working ecumenically, Doral held roles in health education and learning and development. Holding a MA in Contemporary Christian Theology, Doral is currently completing a Doctorate in Practical Theology at Roehampton University, her research focuses on what the churches can learn from the lived experience of interchurch families as they journey towards greater unity.
A licenced lay minister in the Oxford Diocese of the Church of England, Doral regularly preaches and leads worship in her local parish. Doral is married to Declan, a musician, and has two teenage children, she also enjoys singing and walking Seamus, a crazy whippet.
