See of Guildford is filled
Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00
by
Rachel Harden
THE next
Bishop of Guildford is to be the Rt Revd Christopher Hill, Bishop of Stafford
in
Lichfield diocese since 1996, it was
announced on Tuesday.
It was
exactly a year since the translation of the previous Bishop of Guildford, the
Rt Revd John Gladwin, to
Chelmsford had been announced.
Speaking on
Tuesday, Bishop Hill said: “Stoke on
Trent and
Guildford
are quite different places, just as the dioceses are very
different. Guildford
is quite compact compared with
Lichfield.
Although I had an exhilarating time as a Bishop in
Lichfield —
apart from odd moments — it is always good to have a second phase that is
rather different.”
Bishop Hill
was Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs at
Lambeth
Palace
, for the late Lord Runcie, from 1981 to 1989, before being
appointed a Canon of St Paul’s.
Guildford was the first diocese to raise
the clergy stipend beyond the national benchmark. Bishop Hill said that the
diocese was committed to national mutual support for less well-off dioceses.
“The
diocesan secretary is already involved in discussions on this, and I support
that aspiration. Just as John Gladwin brought a bit of his
Sheffield experience
with him, so, without boring people, I will occasionally remind people about
different parts of the country needing support.”
On
homosexuality, Bishop Hill said that he stood by the House of Bishops report
and study guide. But he believed that it was very important to encourage both
sides in listening and “recognising the faith of Christ in each other”.
Bishop Hill
said he would also put into practice his experience of ecumenical dialogue; and
that he also hoped to lead congregations more into “modelling what it means to
be human”. He was very concerned about the high divorce rate in Guildford diocese, and the
Church could take a lead in promoting community and family times, he said.
Bishop
Hill, who is married and has four grown-up children, lists industrial
archaeology (railways and canals) and good food and wine among his hobbies. He
said that his definition of good food was probably English or Italian, but that
he had shared an excellent curry the previous week in Stoke on
Trent
with the country’s first Muslim Lord Mayor.
http://www.guildford.anglican.org