Rev. John Hunter Archive: Call to the North documentation

Documentation concerning the 'Call to the North' evangelical initiative in the North East of England, kept by its secretary Reverend John Hunter, 1969-1973.

John Gaunt Hunter was born in 1921 and grew up in Liverpool where he was educated at Liverpool Collegiate School. He was recruited as a design engineer during the Second World War and subsequently became involved in the trade union movement.
After the war he studied politics and economics at the University of Durham before being called to the ministry. He trained for ordination at Ridley Hall and was ordained in 1951.
Reverend Hunter held curacies at Bradford Cathedral and in Plymouth until 1956 when he was appointed vicar of St Matthew’s, Bootle, in the docklands area of Liverpool. After a period at the Bishop Tucker Theological College in Uganda he returned again to Liverpool to become Vicar of St Michael’s in Altcar, as well as Diocesan Missioner and Ecumenical Officer to the Bishopric.
It was during his time in Liverpool, during the 1968 Lambeth Conference, that the idea emerged for ‘Call to the North’, an evangelical initiative that aimed to bring together people of different denominations in the North East of England. The initiative was launched at a gathering at Bishopthorpe Palace outside York, hosted by the then Archbishop of York Donald Coggan, with Reverend Hunter acting as secretary. The initiative ran until 1977, later changing its name to the Northern Consultation for Mission. Reverend Hunter described his work on the initiative in his 2019 publication ‘The beginning of tomorrow: call to the north, Churches working together in mission’.
In 1978 Reverend Hunter moved to Chelmsford to become Team Rector of Buckhurst Hill, a multi church parish combining both evangelical and Anglo-Catholic traditions. There he focused his work on ministry and outreach, regularly carrying out house visits across the parish.
He retired from full time ministry in 1989 and he and his wife and children returned to Yorkshire where he became part time Advisor in Evangelism in the Diocese of Bradford. In retirement he was also awarded an MA in political theology from Leeds University and an MA and M.Phil in history from Lancaster University.
Reverend Hunter died on the 9 October 2019, at the age of 98.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws. 24 hours' notice is required to access photographic material.

The archive was gifted to the Borthwick Institute in September 2020.

John Gaunt Hunter was born in 1921 and grew up in Liverpool where he was educated at Liverpool Collegiate School. He was recruited as a design engineer during the Second World War and subsequently became involved in the trade union movement.
After the war he studied politics and economics at the University of Durham before being called to the ministry. He trained for ordination at Ridley Hall and was ordained in 1951.
Reverend Hunter held curacies at Bradford Cathedral and in Plymouth until 1956 when he was appointed vicar of St Matthew’s, Bootle, in the docklands area of Liverpool. After a period at the Bishop Tucker Theological College in Uganda he returned again to Liverpool to become Vicar of St Michael’s in Altcar, as well as Diocesan Missioner and Ecumenical Officer to the Bishopric.
It was during his time in Liverpool, during the 1968 Lambeth Conference, that the idea emerged for ‘Call to the North’, an evangelical initiative that aimed to bring together people of different denominations in the North East of England. The initiative was launched at a gathering at Bishopthorpe Palace outside York, hosted by the then Archbishop of York Donald Coggan, with Reverend Hunter acting as secretary. The initiative ran until 1977, later changing its name to the Northern Consultation for Mission. Reverend Hunter described his work on the initiative in his 2019 publication ‘The beginning of tomorrow: call to the north, Churches working together in mission’.
In 1978 Reverend Hunter moved to Chelmsford to become Team Rector of Buckhurst Hill, a multi church parish combining both evangelical and Anglo-Catholic traditions. There he focused his work on ministry and outreach, regularly carrying out house visits across the parish.
He retired from full time ministry in 1989 and he and his wife and children returned to Yorkshire where he became part time Advisor in Evangelism in the Diocese of Bradford. In retirement he was also awarded an MA in political theology from Leeds University and an MA and M.Phil in history from Lancaster University.
Reverend Hunter died on the 9 October 2019, at the age of 98.

The archive has not yet been catalogued.

A reprographics service is available to researchers subject to the access restrictions outlined above. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the document. Copies are supplied in accordance with the Borthwick Institute for Archives' terms and conditions for the supply of copies, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Permission to reproduce images of documents in the custody of the Borthwick Institute must be sought.

Further accruals are not expected.

Published

Minimal

GB193