The tenth Bishop of St Albans is to be the Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, Downing Street has announced this morning.
Read the announcement on the St Albans diocesan website.
Watch the YouTube video here.
Listen to an audio recording of his opening remarks at the press conference.
Read four pages from the Diocese of Lichfield site: Prime Minister’s announcement, Tributes as Bishop of Shrewsbury prepares to move to St Albans, Bishop of Shrewsbury excited about his move to St Albans, and another copy of the St Albans press release.
The CofE also carries the press release.
And the original announcement from 10 Downing Street? Well, it has belatedly appeared here.
It’s good to see an unmarried Bishop promoted to the Diocese of Saint Albans. May Bishop Alan help the Church community to accept the viability of the ministry of single persons within the Church.
May he help every one of us to celebrate the ministry of all who are called into priesthood in the Church – married or single, female or male, gay or straight – for this ministry should be open to all those Baptized who are called by God to serve as Bishop, Priest or Deacon.
I can think of a few people I would have preferred to be appointed…but it’s selfish of me wanting to be rid of them isn’t it?
Just finished reading his book ‘God-shaped Mission’, good stuff. It’s encouraging to see people with a passion for mission being appointed to senior posts.
Thank goodness, the Great High Priest of Evangelical Anglicanism is the unmarried and never married confirmed bachelor John Stott (88)…so the Sugden-Giddings alliance ( who blocked Jeffrey John,..because of the spineless Rowan) cannot demand only married men with children…yet.
Apparently there’s virtually no chance if you want to be single and ordained in Sydney.
“unmarried and never married confirmed bachelor John Stott”
It may not be appropriate, but this is something I didn’t know, and puts a whole new slant on things.