Next Suffragan Bishop of Berwick is named

THE Archdeacon of Northumberland, the Ven. Mark Wroe, was announced on Tuesday as the next Suffragan Bishop of Berwick, in the diocese of Newcastle. He succeeds the Rt Revd Mark Tanner, who is now the Bishop of Chester. Archdeacon Wroe trained at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1996. He was born in Newcastle and grew up in Chester-Le-Street. He served his title in Coventry diocese before moving to a parish in Gateshead. His longest period in office was at Holy Trinity, Jesmond, where he was Vicar from 2007 to 2019. He became Area Dean of the Newcastle Central Deanery in 2017, before going on to be Acting Archdeacon in 2018 and Archdeacon in 2019. He will be consecrated by the Archbishop of York early next year.

Europe diocese prepares to support UK nationals

A £250,000 support fund has been launched by the diocese in Europe to support UK nationals based in France without residency-permit applications. Under the terms of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act, UK citizens wishing to stay in the EU will need “settled status” by 2021. There are reported to be more than 1.3 million UK citizens currently living in the EU, more than 400,000 of whom live in France.

Bishop of Birkenhead to direct CEEC

THE Bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt Revd Keith Sinclair, has been appointed the new national director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC). He will take over on 27 April 2021, the month after he retires. Although the CEEC has a chairman and a secretary, this is the first time it has had a director for many years. The announcement of Bishop Sinclair’s appointment says that the “CEEC believes that this is an appropriate time to invest in additional personnel resources to ensure that traditional Christian teaching, as found in scripture, is heard as clearly as possible through the mission and witness of Evangelical Anglicans”. Gazette, page 29

Hundreds of cards for former bell-ringer

A FORMER engineer and bell-ringer, Edwin Connington, has received hundreds of cards and presents from strangers, after staff at his care home in Birmingham, raised concerns about his separation from his family on his 100th birthday last week, owing to coronavirus restrictions. Mr Connington has two children, nine grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. He has been unable to see them, owing to the pandemic.

New chief investment officer for Pensions Board

THE Church of England Pensions Board announced on Monday that Michael Pratten will become its chief investment officer (CIO) from the start of next month. He succeeds Pierre Jameson, who retired earlier this year. Mr Pratten has worked as CIO for a number of organisations, most recently the Collective Investment Vehicle for London local authorities’ pension funds. His duties will include overseeing the board’s ethical-investment work, including the first index to incorporate climate-change data in its investments.

Conference focuses on LGBT spiritual abuse

AN ONLINE conference, Creating Sanctuary, was held last weekend to discuss spiritual abuse suffered by LGBT people. It was organised by the Baptist minister and founder of the Oasis charity, the Revd Steve Chalke. More than 400 people attended from different denominations. The Guardian reported that Mr Chalke had called the consequences of such abuse “a disaster” if not addressed. Recordings from the conference can be found at: www.oasisuk.org/campaign/creating-sanctuary

Archbishop supports employment alliance

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has backed the creation of the Alliance for Full Employment proposed by a former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. In an open letter to him, published on Sunday, Archbishop Welby said: “It is a fundamental matter of respect and love for our neighbour that in our nation the economy is meant, among other things, to serve the cause of fulfilling work for all.” He expresses the hope that Mr Brown’s proposal “can rapidly gain cross-party support”. The Alliance, which is also backed by metropolitan mayors, has a series of objectives, among them increased funding for households in quarantine, and extension of the furlough scheme, a rescue-plan for high streets and tourism, and a Green New Deal that emphasises environmental schemes. affe.co.uk