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First woman appointed as Bishop of Lynn




Lynn is to have a woman Bishop for the first time ever.

The historic appointment of the Venerable Dr Jane Steen has been announced this morning.

And Dr Steen, who is currently the Archdeacon of Southwark Cathedral, will take up the post in June.

She said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been called to be the next Bishop of Lynn and I am looking forward to the new ministry to which God and the Church have called me.

"It will be a privilege to minister with the clergy and laity of the Lynn archdeaconry and to serve the wider life of north and west Norfolk.

“I feel very blessed to be calling this area home after several lovely holidays, and I will enjoy getting to know people and places better.

"I will carry with me many happy memories of the Diocese of Southwark and especially from eight years of ministering in the Southwark Archdeaconry.”

Dr Steen, who will be joined in West Norfolk by her husband Pip, is also the first woman bishop to be appointed anywhere in Norfolk.

She succeeds the Rt Rev Jonathan Meyrick, who retired in January after more than a decade in the Lynn role.

Dr Steen, who read Theology at Trinity College, Cambridge, has worked in the Southwark diocese for more than 20 years.

She is due to be formally installed at a service to be held in Norwich Cathedral on June 23, the first time a bishop has been consecrated there in at least a century.

And she is already getting to know the area with a visit to a Lynn primary school planned to follow this morning's announcement.

The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham Usher said: “Archdeacon Jane Steen has a deep pastoral care for the people and communities that she serves in Southwark and a rich experience of mission in the Church of England, including supporting church communities to flourish.

"She will bring these aspects, together with her great sense of joy and fun, to the role of Bishop of Lynn.

"I am confident that she and Pip will soon come to love this diocese and its people. May we be a blessing to them, as they will be a blessing to us.”

The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, added: "Jane Steen has been a trusted colleague over many years and has played a major role in deepening discipleship as well as equipping mission and ministry across the Archdeaconry and wider Diocese of Southwark.

"I commend Jane and Pip to your prayers and have every confidence that Jane’s future episcopal ministry will be a rich source of blessing and encouragement to all in the diocese in which she will soon be serving.”



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