Introducing Tabitha Webb
Tabitha is currently the alternative Christine in Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End, having moved from a year in Les Miserables, where she understudied for the role of Cosette.
Tabitha is from Kent and is of Anglo-Welsh descent. She gained a BA(Hons) from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama followed by a post-graduate diploma from the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with distinction.
Her professional career started at the age of 16 after winning the prestigious BBC Choir girl of the year competition. Performances, recordings and concerts around the UK and Europe including recording her own one-hour radio special for BBC Radio 2.
Her recordings include duets with Anthony Way on his CD Wings of a Dove. In 2000 she played the role of Adele in the world premiere of Jane Eyre by Michael Berkeley. Venues included The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
On television she played the role of Aloysia Weber, Mozart’s lover in the BBC drama The Genius of Mozart.
Earlier this year, Tabitha was pleased to be hand-picked as one of the featured soloists in Sir Tim Rice’s star-studded production of Chess at the Royal Albert Hall where she sang alongside stars such as Josh Groban, Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel.
Introducing Toby Butler
Toby is from Amersham and has been ‘obsessively writing rhymes’ since hearing Eminem when he was 15 and he now admits to being ‘hooked’ on ‘Christ Rap Music and Spoken Word’.
In 2009 he performed at New Wine, twice a day, in front of 2000 people, an exposure which helped him to launch his debut EP, ‘SE15’ successfully.
Toby is head of youth and Alpha at All Saints Church in Peckham, and was married to Hannah in September 2009. “Don’t ask my denomination,” he says. “I’m dominated by just Jesus.”
Gary Streeter MP
A committed Christian, Gary Streeter trained and practised as a lawyer and became active in local politics when he was elected a councillor with Plymouth City Council in 1986, where he served for six years.
In 1992, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton. He has served in the Whip’s office, been a minister in the Lord Chancellor’s office, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Shadow Minister for International Affairs and Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party. Currently he sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee and is Chair of the Conservative Party’s International Office. He is married to Jan and has two children. He has been working with Interserve (for whom he is a member of its Council of Reference) since 2003.
Andy Reed MP
Andy Reed became MP for Loughborough in 1992. He is a committed Christian and lives in Quorn with his wife Sarah and two children.
He has held many positions within the Labour Party and was part of the John Smith Leadership campaign team in 1992. He is a member of the Christian Socialist Movement, Amnesty International, the Campaign for Electoral Reform, Charnwood Racial Equality Council, Leicestershire Cooperative Society and UNISON.
He has been a speaker at Spring Harvest and has written a book about Christian involvement in politics for Headway - “Engage or Escape”. He has been working with Interserve (for whom he is a member of its Council of Reference), running Democracy Building Workshops in central Asia since 2005.
Rev David Russell
David used to work for the Methodist church in Frome and then Hemel Hempstead before joining Northchurch Baptist Church as its youth worker. In 2001 he became its minister and he was subsequently ordained in 2003 after training at Regent’s College in London. He has a passion for community outreach, overseas mission as well as Word and Spirit engagement.
In 1993, he met his wife Michelle and they have four children. The advocates I am pleased to be associated with this great campaign, not least as the projects that Interserve is supporting through Love Changes Everything relate directly to the tackling of some of the primary challenges in our world today. I have personal experience of this charity’s great work on the ground and I can confirm that it is making a significant impact for good in developing countries. I would urge anyone reading this to get involved in Love Changes Everything in whatever way they can.