Faith

To give him his formal title for a minute, the Very Reverend Dr Jeffrey Cuttell  is originally from Chaddesden.

However his route back to Derby has taken him via a PhD in nuclear physics, parish ministry and parachuting with the French foreign Legion.

As chaplain to the 4th Battalion Parachute regiment (Reserve) for some nine years he also saw active service in the Balkans. So, as you'll gather, he's not standard issue.  

The Very Reverend Dr Jeffrey Cuttell

"I think I've had an unusual career path" he says levelly. That's something of an understatement for a man who, having added ordination to his science credentials, then happily bolted on an MA in modern philosophy, work in BBC radio and Television as producer and presenter, lecturing on War and Ethics and the aforementioned parachuting as a military chaplain.

He skydives, too, for good measure - and likes to ski, though "I tend to break more easily these days!"

Ask Jeff why he chose to add Dean of Derby to his unorthodox CV and he'll tell you there IS a common thread in his enterprises to date. He's a Big Picture man in pursuit of experience and answers: Why are we here? Is there a God? How should we live?

Christianity's become the core from which he operates: he's armed with its values and dangerously persuasive in recruiting partners and fellow-travellers.

" Healthy churches are those which thoroughly engage with the community and there is a strong tradition of this in Cathedral ministry".

Unconventional he may be, but that's a tradition Jeff Cuttell intends to uphold.

And now that you know what he looks like - don't let him pass without saying hello.