Meet the Team

Our Learning Team is a virtual organisation within the Diocese of Ely’s Mission and Ministry team. That means that team members have a designated area of responsibility for our Open Christian Learning platform that aligns with their brief within the Diocese. Find out more about each of them here.

Niamh Colbrook
Niamh Colbrook Lay Ministry Development niamh.colbrook@elydiocese.org
Niamh Colbrook is the Lay Ministry Development Officer, overseeing the Lay training offer in the Diocese. Working closely with the Lay Ministry team and our training partners, Niamh makes sure LLMs are fully supported through their training - both before and after licensing - and that the training we offer is of the highest quality.
Holli Bielby
Holli Bielby Communications and Project Development holli.bielby@elydiocese.org
Holli is the Development Officer for Communications, and part of the Learning Team who are leading on the Open Christian Learning project, designing and developing the Moodle platform and learning content, as well as adapting content for use on the site and commissioning others to develop content.
Steve Rothwell
Steve Rothwell Ordained Ministry Development steven.rothwell@elydiocese.org
Steve is the Ordained Ministry Development Officer, meaning he is responsible for developing and delivering the ongoing training programme for Assistant Curates in Training in line with the national formation framework. He also oversees, supports and develops the team of Training Incumbents (TIs) that are responsible for the ongoing formation of deacons and priests in our Diocese.
Peter Leech
Peter Leech Principal peter.leech@elydiocese.org
Peter is the Director of Mission and Ministry, leading the team and overseeing all the training delivered by the department and through our training partners. Peter is focused on further developing the work of the Diocesan team as an accessible resource, that serves the needs of the communities and places across the Diocese, and multiplies good practice.
David Newton
David Newton Vocations Resources and IME1 david.newton@elydiocese.org
David is the Diocesan Director of Ordinands. He supports the discernment process for ordinands and oversees their training programmes. This includes cooperating with local Theological Education Institutes (TEIs) as well as developing the work according to the selection framework of the Church of England.
Ruth New
Ruth New Children and Families Ministry childrenandFamilies@elydiocese.org
Ruth is the Development Officer for Children and Families. As well as giving advice to parishes and clergy, she is responsible for developing the training and accreditation of specialist Children and Families Authorised and Licensed Lay Ministers. Ruth facilitates a network of church-based children and families workers.
Mike Kelly
Mike Kelly Youth and Families Ministry mike.kelly@elydiocese.org
Mike is the Development Officer for Youth and Families. He is responsible for developing training for anyone engaged in ministry with young people across our Diocese. He heads up our work on fulfilling our ambition to be younger and more diverse Church. He is a qualified mental health first aid trainer. Mike is deeply committed to championing those whose voices have been marginalised.
Last modified: Wednesday, 30 July 2025, 10:32 AM