Interview: Shropshire’s first female Bishop looking forward to her new ministry
While she is making history as Shropshire’s first female Bishop, The Venerable Sarah Bullock is modest in accepting recognition, preferring to focus on the demands her new role will bring.
“I am looking forward to helping the church reach out further to people,” she said, after he new role was announced by Downing Street yesterday.
Sarah will serve as a bishop in the Diocese of Lichfield and will join the Area Bishops of Wolverhampton and Stafford in an episcopal team led by the Bishop of Lichfield. Her calling will take her out to the Borderlands, into the heart of the county’s towns and she will mix with a broad range of communities.
And one way she will be doing this is through her use of social media.
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An active user of Facebook and Twitter, Sarah believes she can deliver an important message to those people in her communities who, for one reason or another, are unable to get to church.
“I first became involved in social media when I was a parish priest. It was a very global community and I found that with Facebook, I could keep in touch with members wherever they were in the world. And that is the power of social media, it is a brilliant way of communicating and being able to offer support to people and still be a part of their lives.”
The 55-year-old is excited about her move to Shropshire, where she will be responsible for churches, ministers and communities in the towns and villages of North Shropshire, including Shrewsbury, and the northern part of Telford.
Yesterday, Sarah spent time visiting Llanybodwell Church, near Oswestry which is in the furthest west corner of the Diocese before moving on to St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury and finishing the day at Brookside Central Community Centre in Telford.
Having spent childhood holidays in the county and travelling to a family holiday cottage in Snowdonia, she knows the area well and believes she will be able to spread the word of God amongst its diverse communities.
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"I am really excited and I am looking forward to learning more about Shropshire and getting to know the communities," she said. "I know Shrewsbury and the Borderlands well and holidayed in Telford and Ironbridge as a child. It is a beautiful area."
Building relationships in the rural communities in York has been a vital part of supporting and encouraging the churches and she has worked creatively with colleagues to develop new approaches to mission and ministry in such communities.
While Archdeacon she has also learned to drive a tractor, operated a milking parlour, led a carol service in a cowshed at Askham Bryan College and ridden a racehorse.
"There are a lot of similarities between York and its surroundings and Shropshire and its communities," she added. "I had a very big patch with lots of very interesting people. I hope I will bring a big heart to Shropshire. I love God and God's people and being able to communicate that is the most important thing in my life and my ministry.
“I’m passionate about the Christian faith and journeying with people to discover and share the love, joy and hope that Jesus offers to everyone. I look forward to supporting the churches, schools, colleges and communities of this area as we share the good news of God’s love, which brings transformation, hope and renewal."
Sarah takes over the mantle of Bishop Mark Rylands, who stood down last year to take up a ministry in Exeter. “He did a great job and was much loved in the community,” she said.
She trained for the ministry at Cranmer Hall, University of Durham, a theological college in the evangelical tradition of the Church of England. She was ordained 26 years ago after a short career in teaching and children’s and youth work in the Diocese of Manchester.
She then served there in a variety of parish and diocesan roles. She was made an Honorary Canon of Manchester Cathedral in 2007. In 2013 Sarah was appointed Archdeacon of York.
As a young priest she worked in a parish in Moss Side, Manchester, where her father had been the priest before her.
Sarah is married to Peter, a physicist, and they have one son, Joseph, who is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Durham.
The Archdeacon of Salop, the Venerable Paul Thomas, said: “It is a joy to welcome Sarah as the next Bishop of Shrewsbury and I look forward to working closely with her. I am sure that from her wealth of experience Sarah will bring many enriching gifts to us and will be received with enthusiasm and generous hospitality.”
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said: “I am most grateful to Her Majesty The Queen for her approval of the Venerable Sarah Bullock as the new Bishop Suffragan of Shrewsbury. Sarah is deeply committed to serving local communities, serving local people and will be sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all whom she encounters.”
Sarah will be consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 3 and will begin her role in Shrewsbury shortly afterwards.
