Jon Swales is an Anglican priest, prophetic theologian, and poet. He is the founder and leader of Lighthouse West Yorkshire, a fresh expression of church and grassroots charity rooted among people who have been battered and bruised by the storms of life, particularly those facing homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion. He also heads up the Lighthouse School of Missional Theology, supporting and forming leaders for ministry shaped by presence, faithfulness, and reality rather than theory alone.

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Jon’s work has grown out of long years spent alongside people on the margins. He believes theology should be done close to the ground, shaped by real lives, real wounds, and real hope. For him, faith is not about escape or easy answers, but about staying present — learning how to lament truthfully, pray honestly, and keep faith when the world feels fragile and unfinished.

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He is the author of Lament and Hope: Prayers for the Climate and Ecological Emergency and Let Me Be the Kind Who Weeps, a collection of poems written out of grief, joy, vulnerability, and stubborn hope. His writing draws on Scripture, the prophetic tradition of the Church, and the voices of those who are too often unheard.

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Much of Jon’s work centres on cruciform faith, lament, liberation, and ecological justice, asking what it means to follow Jesus in a time of climate breakdown, social fracture, and spiritual exhaustion. His poetry and prayers are offered as companions rather than conclusions — words to help people stay human, attentive, and open to God in hard places.

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Alongside his writing, Jon leads worship, teaches, and develops theological resources rooted in everyday struggle and grace. He was awarded an MBE for his work supporting vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Through this blog, Jon shares reflections, prayers, and poems for those who are trying to live faithfully with their eyes open — holding grief and hope together, and learning how to keep vigil in a wounded world.

Jon has teaching material freely available online.

 

Climate Justice: Following Jesus in a World of Climate Breakdown 

The Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit