Rachel Treweek

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The Right Reverend                   
Rachel Treweek
Bishop of Gloucester
Diocese Diocese of Gloucester
In office 2015–present
Predecessor Michael Perham
Other posts Archdeacon of Northolt (2006–2011)
Archdeacon of Hackney (2011–2015)
Lord Spiritual (2015–present)
Orders
Ordination 1994 (deacon)
1995 (priest)
Consecration 22 July 2015
by Justin Welby
Personal details
Birth name Rachel Montgomery
Born (1963-02-04) 4 February 1963 (age 61)
Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Denomination Anglican
Spouse Guy Treweek (m. 2006)
Profession Speech therapist
Family therapist
Cleric
Alma mater University of Reading
Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Rachel Treweek (née Montgomery; born 4 February 1963) is an Anglican bishop, a Lord Spiritual and a former speech and language therapist. Since June 2015, she has been Bishop of Gloucester, the first female diocesan bishop in the Church of England. From 2011 until 2015, she was the Archdeacon of Hackney in the Diocese of London.

Early life and career

Treweek was born Rachel Montgomery on 4 February 1963.[1] She was educated at Broxbourne School, a state school in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.[2] She studied at the University of Reading and graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in linguistics and language pathology.[2][3][4]

Treweek's first career was as a speech and language therapist. After six years as a paediatric speech therapist in the National Health Service, she left her job to begin training for ordination in the Church of England.[5][6]

Ordained ministry

Treweek studied for ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, an Anglican theological college, and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree in 1994. She was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1994 and a priest in 1995.[3] From 1994 to 1997, she served a curacy at St George and All Saints Church, Tufnell Park, London. From 1997 to 1999, she remained at St George and All Saints Church as the associate vicar.[7] In 1999, she was appointed vicar of St James-the-Less, Bethnal Green, London.[6][8] In addition to the incumbency, she was appointed the continuing ministerial education officer for the Diocese of London.[3]

In 2006, Treweek left parish ministry on her appointment as the Archdeacon of Northolt; this made her one of six archdeacons in the Diocese of London.[9] She held the position for five years before becoming the Archdeacon of Hackney on 14 May 2011.[3] She relinquished this appointment on confirmation of her appointment as Bishop of Gloucester on 15 June 2015.[10]

In September 2013, Treweek was elected as one of eight "participant observers" of the House of Bishops as the observer representing the South East of England.[11] The observers are senior priests who are women and who will attend and participate in meetings of the House of Bishops until six women sit in the House by right as bishops.[12] She attended her first meeting of the House of Bishops of the General Synod of the Church of England on 9 December 2013.[13]

Episcopal ministry

On 26 March 2015, it was announced that Treweek was to become the next Bishop of Gloucester, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Gloucester.[2] Though there have been two women appointed bishops previously, she is the first woman to be appointed a diocesan bishop, rather than as a suffragan bishop.[14] She was the first woman to become a bishop in the Province of Canterbury, jointly with Sarah Mullally, Bishop of Crediton.[15] On 15 June 2015, her election was confirmed during a sitting of the Arches Court of Canterbury at St Mary-le-Bow, City of London.[10][16] At this point, she legally became the Bishop of Gloucester.[17] On 22 July 2015, she was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, during a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral.[18] She and Sarah Mullally were the first women to be ordained as bishops at Canterbury Cathedral.[19] On 19 September, she was installed at Gloucester Cathedral as the 41st Bishop of Gloucester.[20][21]

Following the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, she was to become the first woman to enter the House of Lords as a bishop and Lord Spiritual as soon as a Lord Spiritual seat was emptied.[14] She became eligible to take her seat when parliament reconvened in September 2015 after its summer recess and succeeded Tim Stevens (former Bishop of Leicester).[22][23] She sent back the first version of her writ of summons because it referred to her as a “right reverend father in God”.[24] On 26 October 2015, she was introduced to the House by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.[25][26]

Theology

Treweek believes that God should be considered to be neither male nor female and tries to avoid using gender-specific pronouns when referring to God.[24][clarification needed]

Personal life

In 2006, Treweek married Guy Treweek. He is a Church of England priest and was priest-in-charge of two parishes in the City of London at the time of her appointment to the episcopate.[27]

Styles

  • The Reverend Rachel Montgomery (1994–March 2006)
  • The Reverend Rachel Treweek (March–May 2006)[28]
  • The Venerable Rachel Treweek (May 2006 – 2015)
  • The Right Reverend Rachel Treweek (2015–present)

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ "Archdeacons", Diocese of London website.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Archbishop of Canterbury — Diary: Bishop of Gloucester — Confirmation of Election (Accessed 27 May 2015)
  17. ↑ Working with the Spirit: Choosing Diocesan Bishops: a Review of the Operation of the Crown Appointments Commission and Related Matters page 81, section 5.24 (Accessed 27 May 2015)
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ First female diocesan bishop in C of E consecrated. Anglicannews.org. Retrieved on 23 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ St Martin's (West Acton) Magazine — February 2006 (Accessed 8 November 2015)
Church of England titles
Preceded by Archdeacon of Northolt
2006–2011		 Succeeded by
Pete Broadbent (acting)
Preceded by Archdeacon of Hackney
2011–15 June 2015		 Succeeded by
Liz Adekunle
Preceded by Bishop of Gloucester
15 June 2015–present		 Incumbent
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