Mark Russ is a writer, theologian and teacher. His teaching interests include spiritual practice and music, the Bible, hope, whiteness, modern Christian theology, and the beginnings of Liberal Quakerism. In 2022 he began a PhD at the University of Nottingham researching whiteness, silence and liberal Quaker theology.

As a writer, Mark has been an active blogger at jollyquaker.com since 2013, and has written for the Friend, Friends Quarterly, Quaker Studies and Quaker Religious Thought. His first book, ‘Quaker Shaped Christianity’, was published by Christian Alternative Books in 2022 as part of the ‘Quaker Quicks’ series, and has sold over 1000 copies. His second book, ‘The Spirit of Freedom: Quaker-shaped Christian Theology’ is published by Christian Alternative Books at the end of 2024.

Mark came to Quakers in his late teens, and spent a decade as a music teacher in Birmingham and London. In 2014 he and his husband spent a year living and working in faith-based intentional communities in the UK and the USA. He holds MAs in Music Education from the Institute of Education, and in Systematic and Philosophical Theology from the University of Nottingham. From 2015 to 2022 he worked as a Programmes Coordinator at Woodbrooke.