After studying at Westcott House, Cambridge, Chivers was ordained a deacon on 28 June 1997 at St Paul's Cathedral by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London[4] and a priest on 28 June 1998 at St Pancras New Church by Brian Masters, area Bishop of Edmonton.
[8] While there he witnessed the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and spoke to the worshippers at Friday Prayers in a local mosque.
[12] On Tuesday 31 January 2017, ordinands at Westcott held a service using excerpts from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence's Bible in Polari, an event he described as "hugely regrettable".
[20] His choral works have been sung at (amongst others) King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and Gloucester Cathedral; and include: Our Blessed Lady's Lullaby (1988), Ecce Puer (1994), Mayenziwe Magnificat (2000) and Diptych (2006).
Chivers has presented The Daily Service for BBC Radio 4,[21] interviewed Desmond Tutu and was part of the team broadcasting the Inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington DC.