10 Downing Street has announced that Joanne Grenfell, Archdeacon of Portsdown in the Diocese of Portsmouth, is to be the next Bishop of Stepney in the diocese of London
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell, Archdeacon of Portsdown, in the Diocese of Portsmouth to the Suffragan See of Stepney, in the Diocese of London in succession to the Right Reverend Adrian Newman, BSc, MPhil who resigned on 31st December 2018.
Background
The Venerable Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell was educated at Oriel College, Oxford, where she was also Lecturer in English. She trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge. She served her title at Kirkby Team Ministry in the diocese of Liverpool, and was ordained Priest in 2001. In 2003, Joanne was appointed Priest-in-Charge of Manor Parish in the diocese of Sheffield with responsibility for Ripon College Cuddesdon’s urban theology placement programme. In 2006, Joanne became Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Residentiary Canon, and in 2008 she took on the additional role of Dean of Women’s Ministry. Joanne became Archdeacon of Portsdown in 2013.
The diocese of London website carries this story here.
A Spenser expert in the episcopate! Excellent news. The 92nd woman to be made bishop in the Anglican Communion and 20th to be licensed in the Church of England. London joins Toronto, Perth (AUS), Melbourne, Derby and the Arctic as a diocese with two female bishops serving concurrently (Los Angeles having started the trend a decade ago).
Actually it was Cuba that first provided two female bishops for one diocese in 2010.
Liverpool Diocese?
I think Susan Goff’s licence there is honorary given her full-time role in Southern Virginia? Would be interested to learn otherwise.
Susan Goff is an honorary assisting bishop in Liverpool.
A Westcott House trained diocesan official with no London experience. This looks like a change in direction for the diocese.
This is a significant appointment because Archdeacon Grenfell represents a return to the politically left-leaning and theologically liberal stance of previous bishops of Stepney like Jim Thompson and Trevor Huddleston (in contrast to Richard Chartres and John Sentamu). She undoubtedly brings intellectual rigour, and experience of some demanding social contexts, to this role. Her academic background is in English literature rather than theology and, if my memory serves me correctly, when she was here in Cambridge, her time in Westcott House was only two years (rather than the required 3 years for non-theology graduates under the age of 30). Someone… Read more »
Crockford’s records her entry to Westcott as 1998 and deaconing 2000, so you’d be right. I would guess that ‘they’ struggled to find 3 years worth for a doctor to do! Certainly ‘they’ struggled with similar in my time (often requiring 3 years regardless…)
“a return to the politically left-leaning and theologically liberal stance of previous bishops”… her immediate predecessor held some distinctly liberal views too.
She is also a very strong supporter of gay and lesbian equality