Ruth Elizabeth Worsley, (born 1962) is a
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 ...
bishop. Since September 2015, she has been the
Bishop of Taunton
The Bishop of Taunton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title was first created under the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 and takes its n ...
, a
suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...
of the
Diocese of Bath and Wells
The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England.
The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the C ...
. From 2013 to 2015, she was
Archdeacon of Wiltshire
The Archdeacon of Wilts (or Wiltshire) is a senior cleric in the Diocese of Salisbury, England. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in five deaneries: Marlborough, Pewsey, Calne, Bradford and Devizes.
Sue ...
.
Early life
Worsley was born in 1962 in
Hampton
Hampton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia
*Hampton, New South Wales
*Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region
*Hampton, Victoria
Canada
*Hampton, New Brunswick
*Hamp ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
.
She studied
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
, theology and
biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
. She was training to be a nurse when she felt the
call to ministry and left to take up a position as a
lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
minister.
She trained for ordained ministry at
St John's College, Nottingham
St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...
, an Anglican
theological college
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
.
Ordained ministry
Worsley was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
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 ...
: made a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
at
Michaelmas
Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...
1996 (29 September) by
Patrick Harris
Patrick Burnet Harris (30 September 193426 December 2020) was a Church of England bishop who served in two episcopal positions.
He was educated at St Albans School and Keble College, Oxford. He trained for ordination at Clifton Theological C ...
,
Bishop of Southwell
__NOTOC__
The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. .
The ...
at
St Mary's Church, Nottingham
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the oldest parish churchDomesday Book: A Complete Translation (Penguin Classics) of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest church after the Cathedral in the city of Nottingham. The church ...
and ordained a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
the Michaelmas following (5 October 1997), by
Alan Morgan,
Bishop of Sherwood
The Bishop of Sherwood is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the Royal forest of Sherwood in Nottinghamshi ...
at
St Peter's Church, Ravenshead. She served
curacies
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...
at
St Leodegarius Church,
Basford (1996 to 1998) and
St Stephen's Church, Hyson Green (1998 to 2001) in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
.
From 2001 to 2008, she was
priest-in-charge
A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...
of the
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
of Hyson Green (St Stephen's Church) and
Forest Fields
Forest Fields is an inner-city area of the City of Nottingham, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England.
Geography
Forest Fields is slightly north of the city centre, just past the Forest Recreation Ground. The area includes 31 streets from ...
.
She was also
Area Dean
In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...
of Nottingham North between 2006 and 2008.
From 2007 to 2010, Worsley was
Dean of Women's Ministry
The ordination of women in the Anglican Communion has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. Several provinces, however, and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces, continue to ordain only men. Disputes ove ...
in the
Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham
The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, headed by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. It covers all the English county of Nottinghamshire and a few parishes in South Yorkshire. It is b ...
and an
honorary canon
A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule.
Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...
of
Southwell Minster
Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...
. In 2009 she was appointed an
Honorary Chaplain to the Queen
An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...
; and in 2010 to the post of Parish Development Officer for the
Woolwich Area of the
Diocese of Southwark
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Dio ...
. In February 2013, she was appointed
Archdeacon of Wilts
The Archdeacon of Wilts (or Wiltshire) is a senior cleric in the Diocese of Salisbury, England. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in five deaneries: Marlborough, Pewsey, Calne, Bradford and Devizes.
Sue ...
. She stood down as archdeacon upon becoming a bishop.
Episcopal ministry
On 30 June 2015, she was announced as the next
Bishop of Taunton
The Bishop of Taunton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title was first created under the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 and takes its n ...
, a
suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...
in the
Diocese of Bath and Wells
The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England.
The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the C ...
.
On 29 September 2015, she was
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
a bishop by
Justin Welby
Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, during a service at
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
, London. She was installed as Bishop of Taunton at
Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...
on 2 October. Her first act as a bishop was to admit and licence nine people as
readers.
Personal life
Worsley is married to Howard who is also ordained in the Church of England.
Together, they have three children; Nathanael, Jonathan and Benjamin.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Ruth Elizabeth
1962 births
Honorary Chaplains to the Queen
Archdeacons of Wilts
Living people
Alumni of the University of Manchester
Women Anglican bishops