Revd Joanna Jepson – Learning to love yourself: living in a world of self-image
Episode 82, Jun 04, 2021, 09:00 AM
The Revd Joanna Jepson is an Anglican priest, campaigner, first female chaplain of the London College of Fashion and a padre to the British Army. Born with a now corrected congenital jaw deformity, Joanna made headlines in 2001 for her legal challenge to the late abortion of a foetus with a cleft lip and palate – raising questions of morality over how we treat people born with disabilities. Her memoir, A Lot Like Eve: Fashion, Faith & Fig Leaves, draws comparisons between her life and that of the biblical Eve being shut out of the Garden of Eden; offering a contrast of life before and after facial reconstruction and an exploration of the world of self-image.
Revd Joanna Jepson is an Anglican priest, author, broadcaster and coach. She trained at Bristol and Cambridge and, following her ordination in 2003, served in parishes in Chester and London. Joanna has since worked speaking, coaching and leading groups across the UK, USA, West Africa & Australia. In 2006 she set up the first chaplaincy in the British Fashion Industry, based at London College of Fashion. In 2015, Joanna’s first book was published by Bloomsbury. A Lot Like Eve; Fashion, Faith & Fig Leaves, charts her journey through faith, deconstruction and reconstruction. Joanna is based in Wells, with her husband and son, and, as a military chaplain, spent the first part of 2021 working with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. She is a regular contributor on BBC Radio 2 and guest on Radio 4, BBC, ITV and Channel4, and has written for the national press including The Independent, The Times and The Sunday Telegraph. She is a patron of Alabaré; a charity that seeks to end homelessness for military veterans, vulnerable adults and people with lifelong disabilities.