Gillian Evelyn Joynson-Hicks, Viscountess Brentford, (''née'' Schluter; born 22 November 1942) is a British

evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...

and activist. She served as the Third Church Estates Commissioner, one of the most senior lay people in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, from 1999 to 2005. She was also President of the

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

(CMS) between 1998 and 2007.

Personal life

Born Gillian Evelyn Schluter on 22 November 1942, she was educated at West Heath School, an all-girls

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

near Sevenoaks, Kent. On 21 March 1964, she married Crispin Joynson-Hicks. He became the 4th

Viscount Brentford Viscount Brentford, of Newick in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1929 for the Conservative politician Sir William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Baronet, chiefly remembered for his tenure as Home ...

in 1983, and as his wife, she uses the style of ''Viscountess Brentford''. Together they have four children: one son and three daughters.

Career

Joynson-Hicks is a chartered accountant, qualifying FCA ( Fellow Chartered Accountant) in 1965.

Church service

Joynson-Hicks was Chair of the House of Laity of the

Diocese of Chichester The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was founded in 681 as the ancient Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey, until the see was translated to Chichester in 1075. The cathe ...

from 1991 to 1999, and a member of the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

from 1990 to 2005. She served as a

Church Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

from 1991 to 1998, and then as the Third Church Estates Commissioner from 1999 to 2005. She additionally sat on the Crown Appointments Commission from 1995 to 2002, and as such was involved in the

appointment of Church of England bishops The appointment of Church of England diocesan bishops follows a somewhat convoluted process, reflecting the church's traditional tendency towards compromise and ''ad hoc'' solutions, traditional ambiguity between hierarchy and democracy, and trad ...

. Outside of the Church of England, she was President of the

(CMS) between 1998 and 2007: the CMS is an evangelical Anglican and

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

organisation. She is a patron of the Family Education Trust, a

traditionalist Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to: Religion * Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group * Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th–cen ...

society with links to the

New Right New Right is a term for various right-wing political groups or policies in different countries during different periods. One prominent usage was to describe the emergence of certain Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Uni ...

Honours

In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, Joynson-Hicks was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) "for humanitarian services and for services to the community in London". She served as

High Sheriff of East Sussex The High Sheriff of East Sussex is a current title which has existed since 1974; the holder is changed annually every March. For around 1,000 years the county of Sussex was covered by a single High Sheriff of Sussex but after the Local Government ...

, a ceremonial role and one of the Monarch's representatives in the county, from 1998 to 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joynson-Hicks, Gillian 1942 births Living people Evangelical Anglicans British Anglicans Church Estates Commissioners Officers of the Order of the British Empire High Sheriffs of Sussex Members of the General Synod of the Church of England