Rachel Treweek | |
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Bishop of Gloucester | |
Church | Church of England |
Diocese | Diocese of Gloucester |
In office | 2015–present |
Predecessor | Michael Perham |
Other post(s) |
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Orders | |
Ordination |
by
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Consecration | 22 July 2015 by Justin Welby |
Personal details | |
Born | Rachel Montgomery 4 February 1963 Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England |
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglican |
Residence | Bishopscourt, Gloucester[1] |
Spouse |
Guy Treweek (m. 2006) |
Profession |
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Alma mater | |
Member of the House of Lords (Lord Spiritual) | |
Assumed office 26 October 2015 | |
Rachel Treweek (née Montgomery; born 4 February 1963) is an English Anglican bishop who sits in the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual.
Since June 2015, she has served as Bishop of Gloucester, the first female diocesan bishop in the Church of England. A former speech and language therapist, from 2011 until 2015, she was the Archdeacon of Hackney in the Diocese of London.
Born Rachel Montgomery on 4 February 1963,[2] she was educated at Broxbourne School, a state school in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.[3] She studied at the University of Reading graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in linguistics and language pathology.[3][1][4]
Treweek's first career was as a speech and language therapist. After six years as a paediatric speech therapist in the National Health Service, she left her job to train for ordination in the Church of England.[5][6]
Treweek studied for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, an Anglican theological college, and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree in 1994. She was ordained deacon at Petertide 1994 (3 July), by David Hope, Bishop of London, at St Paul's Cathedral,[7] and was introduced by Martin Wharton, Bishop of Kingston as a curate, the following Petertide (27 June 1995), at St George and All Saints Church, Tufnell Park, London,[8] then becoming Associate Vicar, from 1997 to 1999.[9] In 1999, she was appointed Vicar of St James-the-Less, Bethnal Green, London.[6][10] In addition to the incumbency, she was appointed the continuing ministerial education officer for the Diocese of London.[1]
In 2006, Treweek left parish ministry on her appointment as the Archdeacon of Northolt; this made her one of six archdeacons in the Diocese of London.[11] She held the position for five years before becoming the Archdeacon of Hackney on 14 May 2011.[1] She relinquished this appointment on confirmation of her appointment as Bishop of Gloucester on 15 June 2015.[12]
In September 2013, Treweek was elected as one of eight "participant observers" of the House of Bishops representing the South East of England.[13] Such observers were senior female priests who attended and participated in meetings of the House of Bishops until six women were sitting in the House by right as bishops.[14] She attended her first meeting of the House of Bishops of the General Synod of the Church of England on 9 December 2013.[15]
On 26 March 2015, it was announced that Treweek was to become the next Bishop of Gloucester, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Gloucester.[3] Though there had been two women appointed bishops previously in the Church of England, she was the first woman to be appointed a diocesan bishop, rather than as a suffragan bishop.[16] She was the first woman to become a bishop in the Province of Canterbury, jointly with Sarah Mullally, Bishop of Crediton.[17] On 15 June 2015, her election was confirmed during a sitting of the Arches Court of Canterbury at St Mary-le-Bow, City of London.[12][18] At this point, she legally became the bishop of Gloucester.[19] On 22 July 2015, she was consecrated by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, during a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral,[20] she and Sarah Mullally (later Bishop of London) being the first women to be consecrated as bishops in the Church of England.[21] On 19 September 2015, she was installed at Gloucester Cathedral as the 41st Bishop of Gloucester.[22][23]
Following the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, Treweek was the first woman bishop eligible to be admitted to the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual when parliament reconvened in September 2015 after its summer recess,[16] in place of Tim Stevens who had retired as Bishop of Leicester and Convenor of the Bishops in the Lords.[24][25] She sent back the first version of her writ of summons because it referred to her as a "Right Reverend Father in God"[26] (bishops' writs have simply omitted "Father in God" ever since — even for male bishops).[27] Then, on 26 October 2015, she was introduced to the House by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.[28][29] In 2020, she became (additionally) Bishop to HM Prisons.[30]
Treweek believes that God should be considered to be neither male nor female and tries to avoid using gender-specific pronouns when referring to God.[26] Explaining this view to The Observer, she said she "personally prefers to say neither 'he' nor 'she', but 'God'. 'Sometimes I lapse, but I try not to.'"[31] The Diocese of Gloucester announced that, in January 2017, Treweek would preside at an LGBTI Eucharist with Inclusive Church.[32]
In January 2023, she stated that she supports the celebration and blessing of "faithful monogamous same-sex relationships", but does not support changing the Church of England's doctrine of marriage (i.e. that marriage is the life long union of one man and one woman).[33]
In November 2023, she was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith (i.e. blessings for same-sex couples) and called for "Guidance being issued without delay that includes the removal of all restrictions on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy".[34]
In 2006, she married Guy Treweek; he is a Church of England priest and was priest-in-charge of two ancient City of London parishes at the time of her appointment to the episcopate.[35]
Treweek is a Patron of Prisoners Abroad, a charity supporting the welfare of Britons imprisoned overseas and their families.
On 8 July 2016, Treweek received an honorary doctorate (Hon DLitt) from her alma mater, the University of Reading.[36]