James Jones launches the Carbon Fast. Photo: Press Association
James Jones became Bishop of Liverpool in 1998 having been Bishop of Hull since 1994. Over the last thirteen years he has been deeply involved in Urban Regeneration. For four years he chaired the New Deal for Communities programme in Liverpool (Kensington Regeneration) and has championed community-led regeneration in lectures, newspaper articles and broadcasts. 45% of the parishes in the Diocese of Liverpool are Designated Priority Areas.
He chairs the Governing Body of the faith-based St Francis of Assisi City Academy jointly sponsored by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Dioceses. It is the first Academy to take the Environment as its specialism. It opened to its first pupils in September 2005. This date also marks the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
He lectures widely and broadcasts regularly on ‘Thought for the Day’ on Radio 4's Today programme. He has written a number of books including ‘Jesus and the Earth’ (SPECK 2003) which looks at the relationship between Christianity and the environment.
Working in partnership with other faiths and a number of agencies including the RDA for the North West he has set up Faiths4Change which is an organisation working across the faith communities engaging local people in the holistic transformation of their local environment. Quoting the African proverb: 'We have borrowed the present from our children' he believes that young people are much more alert to the need to create cleaner, safer and greener communities.
In Lent of 2008 he launched the Carbon Fast with Tearfund which encourages people to take one action throughout the 40 days of Lent that will reduce their carbon emissions.
He is a member of the House of Lords, Bishop for Prisons, Chair of the Council of Wycliffe Hall in the University of Oxford, Co-President of Liverpool Hope University, Adjunct Professor of Liverpool Hope University teaching an MA on theology and the environment, a Vice President of Tearfund, WWF Ambassador and a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).
James Jones has published the following works:
- People of the Blessing (1998, BRF)
- The Moral Leader (2002, IVP)
- Jesus and the Earth (2003, SPCK)
- Why do people suffer? (2007, Lion)