Click here to see more pictures of Bishop John being introduced in Dudley and Worcester.

The Rt Revd Dr. John Inge, currently Bishop of Huntingdon in the Diocese of Ely, has been appointed as the next Bishop of Worcester, it was announced today by 10 Downing Street. The Bishop arrived in the diocese at Dudley Council House with members of St. Edmund and St. John and Jessons Church of England Primary Schools on hand to welcome their new bishop to the area.

Of his new appointment, Bishop John said: “It is a great honour to be asked to become the next Bishop of Worcester. I am looking forward immensely to coming to serve the church here as it seeks to spread God’s love to the people of Worcestershire and Dudley. I long for that love in Jesus to reach everyone in our society and will do everything I can to enable it to happen in this exciting part of the world.”

Bishop John has been in the diocese of Ely since 1996 and Bishop of Huntingdon since 2003, before which he worked in the Diocese of Newcastle. Bishop John and his family will be moving to Worcester around Christmas and will begin his ministry in the diocese some time in the New Year.

The Bishop of Dudley, the Rt Revd David Walker said: “I know from my own experience how welcoming Worcestershire and Dudley are to new bishops. Bishop John and his family are going to be very happy among us here. We in turn are looking eagerly forward to working with him as we seek to be a church for those who are not, or not yet, its members.”

The current Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd Dr. Peter Selby, retires at the end of September following ten years in the post. He welcomed his successor saying: “The naming of a new bishop is a historic moment in the life of the diocese, and it is a great delight to know that the diocese of Worcester will be benefiting from the spiritual gifts and wisdom of Bishop John for this next chapter in its life.”

John is married to Denise, a writer and distinguished authority on the 17th-century poet Thomas Traherne. They have two young daughters. He enjoys music, drama, reading, cycling and swimming.

ENDS

Biography of Bishop John Inge:

Bishop John was born in 1955. He attended Kent College in Canterbury then undertook a BSc in Chemistry at St. Chads College, Durham. After completing a PGCE at Keble College, Oxford, Bishop John taught Chemistry at Lancing College in Sussex before ordination. He studied at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield, Yorkshire and was ordained deacon in 1983 and priest in 1984 in the Diocese of Chichester.

Bishop John’s first appointments were as a chaplain at Lancing College and then Harrow School, where he also continued teaching both Chemistry and Religious Studies. He then spent six years as vicar of an inner-city parish at St. Luke’s Church, Wallsend, on Tyneside. During this time he was also very involved in social responsibility throughout the Diocese of Newcastle. Bishop John moved to the Diocese of Ely in 1996 where he was appointed Residentiary Canon of Ely Cathedral. Here he had responsibility for education and mission, becoming Vice Dean of the Cathedral in 1999 and Bishop of Huntingdon in 2003. As Bishop, he has had particular responsibility for developing the strategy of the diocese of Ely for mission and ministry. He has acted as Warden of Readers and has worked hard to ensure both lay people and clergy feel supported in their ministry. He has also been heavily involved in the life of Cambridgeshire on behalf of the church as Chair of Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council and co-chair of the East of England Faiths Council. He is a member of the Council at Ridley Hall, a theological college which trains priests.

Bishop John is fascinated by international affairs and cultural variety and has taken groups to Africa (on seven occasions), India, South America, Russia and the Holy Land. He has also fostered Indian and African links with the Diocese of Ely. He is a longstanding member of the World Development Movement and Amnesty International. Bishop John is a trustee of Common Purpose, an international organisation that helps people in leadership and decision-making positions in the private, public and voluntary sectors to be more effective in their own organisations, in the community and in society as a whole.

His book A Christian Theology of Place (Ashgate, 2003) was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. His latest book Living Love: In Conversation with the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Inspire, 2007) looks at the Christian message contained within Alexander McCall Smith’s very popular novels about Africa.

The Diocese of Worcester is one of 44 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.