Your Facilitator

John Drake MBE fell in love with Jerusalem when, in 1969 he was asked by the then Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem to undertake “street work” in the Old City.

On his return to the UK, John enjoyed an active Christian ministry serving at Bournemouth, Carlisle and London Central YMCA’s before moving to YMCA Norfolk and serving as CEO until his retirement in 2009

Currently he works with a range of different agencies by supporting their programmes in both Israel and Palestine. He normally visits the Holy Land three or four times a year.

Boundary Breakers Ltd was founded by John Drake MBE to give legal structure and public transparency to his aspiration to create exciting educational encounters. Such encounters give opportunities to explore the foundations of the Christian Faith in their actual locations. 
To quote fr Jon Sobrino: “To understand who Jesus Christ is for us today, we need to understand who Jesus of Nazareth was.”

Boundary Breakers Limited also enables the independent traveller to appreciate and learn from the stimulation of the collective experience.

Boundary Breakers are pleased to announce that two highly accredited professional “Reconciliation Practitioners”, Andrew Corsie and Joel Bubbers, are set to launch a new and much-needed initiative to train, equip and support those engaged in community cohesion and conflict resolution here in the UK called NEIGHBOURHOODS OF TRUST.

NEIGHBOURHOODS OF TRUST

Helping communities build trust, navigate difference and become more resilient.

The challenge

Across many neighbourhoods, the relationships and institutions that help hold communities together are under strain. Trust in institutions and between different groups is being eroded. Loneliness and social isolation are widespread. Opportunities for meaningful face-to-face encounter are shrinking, while social media can amplify division and anxiety. Public and community services are under pressure, and many of the spaces in which difficult local issues could once be worked through have weakened or disappeared. Conflict itself is not the problem. Difference and disagreement are inevitable features of healthy communities.
The challenge is what happens when communities lack the relationships, leadership and spaces needed to navigate them well. When these foundations are weak, communities become more fragile. A local incident, political controversy, international event or piece of misinformation can become the spark that turns underlying tension into polarisation, hostility or, at times, violence.
We believe this can be changed.

What we offer

Neighbourhoods of Trust helps local leaders, institutions and communities strengthen their capacity to build trust and live well across difference.

We work with churches, faith communities, civic institutions, Police, Social Service providers, housing associations and other local partners to understand the particular relationships, assets, histories and fault lines of a specific location and develop an approach appropriate to that context.

Our approach integrates consultancy and advisory services, programme design and delivery, convening and facilitation, and ongoing accompaniment through mentoring and coaching.
This is not an off-the-shelf community cohesion course.
Our approach works from the inside out, at three interconnected levels, but is a bespoke, specific and person-centred contribution to lasting community cohesion.

For more information about Andrew Corsie and Joel Bubbers read below.

Joel Bubbers

Joel Bubbers has over 10 years experience of senior leadership roles in development and diplomacy in the Middle East, with particular focus on strategy, design and delivery of large donor-funded programmes in the peacebuilding and education sectors. Most recently he served as Country Director Jordan and Regional Head of the Levant for the British Council, working closely with the British Embassy, UN Agencies, INGOs and local partners, and with responsibility for over 200 staff and a large programme portfolio in Iraq, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories (based in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza), Syria and Yemen. He now studies behaviour change and works in the UK as a Leadership Coach and Group Facilitator for individuals and organisations. He’s passionate about marrying these skills with his experience of large-scale conflict-related programming to support social change and reconciliation efforts in the UK. He is a qualified Mediator and has first-class degrees from Durham University (BA History) and King’s College London (MA International Peace & Security).

The Rev’d Prebendary Andrew Corsie MSc

Former Area Director of Ministry and Diocesan Mediation and Restorative Practices Lead.

Andrew has been involved in conflict mediation for over 40 years. He first realized this would be a lifelong area of interest and commitment as a young youth club leader in urban west London, when he placed himself in the way of a young man being attacked by four others, absorbing many of the blows intended for the individual.

This commitment became more formal when he began a career in Social Work, primarily within the Criminal Justice System. He worked in what would later be known as Restorative Justice, recognising the profound potential for mediation to bring healing and reconciliation between different parties.

For more than 30 years, Andrew has focused on church and community conflict. Since his ordination in 1993, he has collaborated with others within the diocese to promote the ministry of reconciliation, particularly during times of tension within church communities and wider society.

Over the last 15 years, Andrew worked to organise this ministry to promote reconciliation not only among Christians but as a core part of the mission to the city and beyond. More recently, this work has expanded into international partnerships with charities in the Middle East and Africa—including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Ethiopia—fostering a reciprocal learning environment.

The scheme contributed to the diocese’s ministry of reconciliation in London, drawing inspiration from St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” Since his retirement in October 2025, Andrew has continued to pursue this vital ministry.

Professional Development & Affiliations

Andrew’s ongoing professional expertise has been shaped by several key international institutions and organisations:

• Musalaha: Working for reconciliation in Israel and Palestine (www.musalaha.org).
• MSc in Conflict Studies: University of London.
• Centre for Peace and Reconciliation: Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, West Virginia, USA.
• Lombard Mennonite Centre: Chicago, USA.
• Bridge Builders Ministries, UK: (www.bbministries.org.uk), where Andrew also serves as a trustee.

Contact: Andrew can be reached via email at: andrew.corsie@outlook.com