Peter Owen Jones
Peter Owen Jones dropped out of public school at the age of 16 and went to Australia to make his fortune. Back in Britain, he began his working life as a farm labourer in South Eastern England and then ran a mobile disco before moving to London where he started in advertising as a messenger boy and worked his way up to creative director. In his late 20s and with a wife and two children, he gave up his commercial life to follow a calling to the Anglican ministry by enrolling at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. In early 1996 he gained notoriety when he conducted a service for the Newbury bypass protestors. In 1998, he ran three parishes in Cambridgeshire as the Rector of Haslingfield (Harlton, Great Eversden and Little Eversden), before resigning from his post in 2005, to relocate to the benefice of Glynde, West Firle and Beddingham. He was recruited by the BBC to front a series of religious television programmes which would look at different aspects of Christian and other faiths where he has received critical acclaim from many quarters. In his BBC documentary How to Live a Simple Life (2009), Peter tried to live a life without money, in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi. Peter has written a number of books including: Around the World in 80 Faiths, Letters from an Extreme Pilgrim and Reflections on Life, Love and the Soul. He has also been involved in many outstanding television productions for the BBC including: Extreme Pilgrim, in which he lived as a Chinese Buddhist monk, a Christian monk and an Indian ascetic. Around the World in 80 Faiths - a travel documentary encountering different religions. And How To Live A Simple Life, a three part series in which Peter tries to turn his back on consumerism. Visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Owen-Jones Visit: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sdbcw Visit: www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7687158/Rev-Peter-Owen-Jones-Taking-financial-advice-from-St-Francis-of-Assisi.html