The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, will commission the Bishop of Warrington, the Rt Revd Beverley Mason, as an Honorary Assistant Bishop. This will take place at the Chrism Mass in St Asaph Cathedral on Maundy Thursday. This is briefly mentioned in Bishop Gregory’s April ad clerum, which notes that Bishop Bev has a home in his diocese.
The diocese of Liverpool has issued a fuller news item, which is copied below.
Bishop Bev is to be Made an Hon Asst Bishop at St Asaph at the Chrism Mass on Maundy Thursday
Bishop Bev has written: “I am humbled and deeply grateful to Bishop Gregory and colleagues in St Asaph for their warm welcome, love and affirmation. St Asaph has opened the door upon a new vista and I look forward with hope to a restored and renewed ministry in the Province of the Church in Wales. The Chrism Mass is a poignant reminder for all in Christian ministry of the very essence of our calling and vocation and of our re-covenanting with the God who has lived among us in our Lord Jesus Christ, who by his Cross and Passion, has redeemed the world. I pray this will be a time of blessing and renewal for all Christ’s Church.
I remain Bishop of Warrington as I continue to wait and push for a proper resolution to my unhappy situation. Today, it is 574 days since I exercised an episcopal ministry. It feels interminable – as I imagine it does for you. Thank you for your kind support, resilience and patience.
Please continue to pray for me – as I pray for you.”
I regret having to raise these points but when you are old and neurodivergent, the urge to say what others are too polite or “English” or timid to say becomes overwhelming!
Am I the only man who wonders if the treatment of this woman bishop would ever happen to a male bishop? Is her life and ministry on hold until the ABY retires? What are the questions that need to be asked, who should be asking them, and who should be answering them?
I’m so glad you have…. The phrase institutionalised misogynistic bullying sprung to my mind .Bishop Cameron, well done .
I asked here several months ago why Bishop Bev was not being made the acting Bishop of Liverpool, and several people replied that no doubt she had another job lined up. It now seems clear that that was not true, and she is still being penalised for having dared to make a claim of sexual harassment against her diocesan. Complainants now are being treated no better than I was when complaining of sexual harassment in 1988. And archbishops and bishops are still claiming that safeguarding has improved!
Sadly, I already knew those people were wrong, Janet. I should qualify this by saying I had no inside knowledge of +Warrington’s situation. I just have so much experience – first hand and from the experiences of others – of how a mixture of incompetence, discrimination and malice comes together to punish those in situations like hers by relegating them to the sidelines and leaving them there indefinitely, in the hope that they will quietly resign or ‘someone somewhere’ will do something to make the whole dreadful situation go away without it actually being anyone’s responsibility to solve it (especially… Read more »
It’s worth noting that David Williams was “stepped back” for complaining about his own bishop in Winchester, but he was back in harness in quite a short time
Graham, thank you. This seems a bizarre situation for Bishop Bev. I sense/surmise she was gracious and accommodating when reporting this and this unselfish disposition has been taken advantage of by senior leaders. A complete disaster for the Diocese and herself. The Archbishop needs to be pro-active in finding a just resolution to this.
I really don’t know what is going on here, but it sounds to me as though Bishop Gregory is being something of a hero.
Nail on head – I don’t think many people have much idea “what is going on here” but there is, nonetheless, no shortage of judgements.
Bishop Gregory being something of a hero! The diocese of St Asaph is sinking fast into oblivion. The communicant stats haven’t been published for a few years but the ordination stats are in the public domain. The best guestimate for the whole of the Church in Wales is about 10,000 regular communicants and about 30 ordinands in training, most of whom will be NSM in vast prairie-like benefices. It’s also possible that the Bishop of St Asaph needs another bishop to assist him because he’s nearly 66 and in poor shape.
I share the views of those much closer to this sorry situation than I (some of whom I have had direct conversations with), and all of whom are clear that ++Ebor seems to be coming out of this very badly. The pastoral care exercised has been limited. The ability of our church leaders to grasp nettles is non existent. How wonderful of the Church in Wales to offer the Bishop of Warrington a home for the time being. It does seem to be a province in a rather different league.