Rev. Dr. Deirdre Brower was born in Canada, the daughter of passionate Christian parents who joined a love for God with a love of learning. She moved between the UK and Canada several times before finally settling in Manchester in her late teens. She pastored churches in Urban Bristol and Manchester, serving in both settings in co-vocational roles – as Youth Pastor and then as lecturer in Pastoral and Social Theology at NTC in Manchester. As a result of her pastoral work she became increasingly interested in issues of justice and transformation, urban realities and practices – all joined with an intense love of learning and theology.