Fr Colin was born and raised in Edinburgh. Following school he went up to the University of St Andrews where he spent six years, reading initially for a degree in Medieval History followed by a Post-Graduate degree in Medieval Islamic History (focussing particularly on the architectural legacy of the great Andalusi Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd al Rahman al-Nasir).

After working for a year as a Pastoral Assistant in a predominantly black parish in inner city London – an experience he freely admits changed his life – he went to the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield to be formed for the Priesthood.

Following ordination in 2002 he served as Assistant Curate at the Church of St Paul the Apostle, Tottenham. During this time he became increasingly aware of the difficulties faced by those seeking to re-adjust to life outside Prison as well as those more generally marginalised by society.

In 2005 he moved from Tottenham to St Michael and All Angels with St James, Croydon where he is the Assistant Priest and where he hopes to remain ‘for the foreseeable future.’

Fr Colin is a member of the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) one of the oldest Priestly Societies within the Church of England. As a committed Catholic Anglican Fr Colin values the history of that movement which, from its outset, has been particularly associated with ministry to those on the fringes of society.