31 The Girl from Montego Bay Dover Welcomes its New Bishop Peter Sherred n the summer of 2019, it was announced deacon and served her curacy at St Ithe new Bishop of Dover would be the Matthew’s Church in Wolverhampton. On Revd Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the then 23 April 1994, approximately a month after Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of it became possible for women to be Commons and a Chaplain to the Queen. ordained priest, she was ordained as a Subsequently she was consecrated as priest in Lichfield Cathedral. Her journey Bishop of Dover at St Paul’s Cathedral, thereafter has involved her confronting London, on 19th November 2019 along much prejudice both on account of her with the new Bishop of Reading the Rt gender and her colour. She recalls an Revd Olivia Graham. The Rt Revd Dr Rose incident where she said to a group of lay Hudson-Wilkin, as she then became, was and ordained people while working as a installed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, diocesan officer, “If you had a vacancy and The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, I applied for it, would you consider me?” in Canterbury Cathedral during a service One woman popped her hand up, and said, of Choral Evensong on 30 November. The “But why would we? We don’t have any Bishop of Dover is the Suffragan Bishop in black people here…” Rose laughed before the Diocese of Canterbury and holds responding. “Oh, my goodness, isn’t it additional delegated responsibilities for interesting that white priests can go to oversight of the Diocese. So it was that in Africa, Asia, to our inner cities, they can the service The Archbishop delegated to minister to everybody, but somehow black Bishop Rose his episcopal functions in priests are only allowed to minister to relation to the Diocese of Canterbury to black people?” She left things at that for assist him in the administration of the them to ponder. Diocese bearing in mind his other national The first church Revd Rose went to was and, indeed, global commitments. from the tradition that had issues with female priests and several people resigned Bishop Rose was born and brought up in from the Parochial Church Council Montego Bay, Jamaica. Her mother came to the United Kingdom when she was a baby and she was raised by her father’s sister in Jamaica. When she was 14 she first had a sense that she was being called to ministry. This calling led her in 1979, aged 18, to the UK to train as an evangelist at the Church Army College in London where she met her future husband, Ken, who was from the north-east. After finishing her training, Ken followed Rose to Jamaica where they married. In 1985, aged 24, Rose and Ken returned to the UK where the first of their three children was born. In 1991, Rose was ordained as a Consecration of Bishop Rose 32 following her appointment. Rose exercised framework of Choral Evensong. Following her ministry and faithfully served her the Oaths and Declarations of the congregation. When she was appointed as ceremony The Archbishop of Canterbury Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of invited The Dean to install Bishop Rose in Commons in 2010, a role she shared with the accustomed place assigned to the another priest, she encountered another Bishop of Dover in the Quire. Dean Robert form of prejudice as one newspaper Willis welcomed Rose both as Bishop of described the other priest as an “Oxford Dover and as a member of the Cathedral graduate” while referring to Rose as “the Foundation and duly installed her in her girl from Montego Bay”. Following priestly stall and admitted her as a member of the ordination and having served in parishes Foundation of the Cathedral and in Wolverhampton and West Bromwich she Metropolitical Church of Christ assuring became the incumbent, in the Hackney her of prayer, affection and the support of Deanery of London, of Holy Trinity that community. Towards the end of the Church, Dalston and All Saints Church, service the newly installed Bishop of Haggerston, a combined parish, for sixteen Dover preached her first sermon in her and a half years before being appointed new capacity in which she encouraged the Priest-in-Charge of St Mary-at-Hill in the people of Kent to refuse to be divided but City of London. In 2007 Rose was instead to focus on their common appointed a Chaplain to Her Majesty the humanity and be united. Queen and, subsequently, the Speaker’s In her sermon she said: “Let us think what Chaplain in 2010. The royal wedding of the it might look like for us here in Kent, if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex brought name of Jesus enabled us to be a unifying people together in many ways and Rose body. That instead of focusing on the was deeply privileged to be invited by things that separate us, we focussed on the them to lead prayers at the service. things that we share in common. What if we were to discover that God, through Her installation service was conducted in a Jesus, does indeed sneak out those great packed Canterbury Cathedral within the doors and is right there in the community with us, urging us to think of His justice, mercy and His compassion for the whole world? What if we were to recognise His presence as we seek to ensure that the resources we have been blessed with are not for amassing personal wealth but to be shared in such a way that our brothers and sisters in poverty are no longer in need?” She added: “We are deeply mistaken if the kind of relationship we seek with God is so personal and private that we exclude our brothers and sisters around us Bishop Rose with Archbishop at installation or indeed, as we are in Kent, on 33 the frontier if we exclude our brothers and served as a Commissioner for the sisters from another mother!” Bishop Rose Broadcasting Standards Commission; urged those present to focus afresh on represented the Church of England on the Jesus, opening themselves up to God’s Anglican Consultative Council and the transforming power: “He is ready to walk World Council of Churches and has served with us, today I invite you to shed the on the General Synod in addition to cultural barriers that have locked him into performing numerous speaking, preaching special boxes and so called religious sites and media engagements. Among the latter and enable the spirit to change our lives so she has been a guest speaker of members that we can in turn be changing other lives of the Rotary Club of Dover, has been the through the message of the Good News.” principal guest at the annual St George’s Day Dinner in Dover Town Hall organised Dover’s new Bishop has a high regard for by the Rotary Clubs of Dover, Deal, our Head of State and suggests people in Sandwich and South Foreland and in 2018 Britain could do well to learn a thing or two she was guest celebrant and preacher at from Her Majesty. The Queen, Rose adds, the annual Becket Service held each is someone who embraces everyone, December in the Royal Chapel of Dover relating to people with a deep respect and Castle and organised by the members of values them and their culture. the St Mary in Castro congregation led by the co-ordinating Chaplain, the Revd Regarding her new appointment she says it Canon Jonathan Russell. was only after she was accepted for the role of Bishop of Dover that people said to Welcoming Rose’s appointment into his her, “Oh, that’s a big job!” But she seems Diocese, The Most Revd and Right Hon well prepared being deeply rooted in her Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, belief of who has called her to the said: “When in October Rose stepped down ministry. She believes faith takes people to as Chaplain to the Speaker, the tributes great heights adding “My life was changed from all sides showed her pastoral, and continues to be changed in the prophetic and faith sharing gifts. Even in presence of God. I know what joy and times of division she was a point of unity serenity that has brought me - and I want and hope, to those of any or no faith. others to experience that joy in their lives, Through much struggle and suffering in too”. her life she has become one of the most exceptional of Christian leaders showing, The Church of England has progressed in word and deed, confidence in Jesus significantly over the past three or so Christ as life, liberty and love. We welcome decades, and Rose has conquered many her, warmly confident that God who has milestones: one of the first women to be led her this far will walk with her and ordained, the first black priest to be speak through her.” Chaplain to the Queen and to the Speaker of the House of Commons and most Breaking a succession of male white recently the first black woman to be a dominance as Bishop of Dover Bishop bishop in the Church of England. But if Rose’s appointment is an historic moment there is one thing she would like to see in the life of the Church of England, for change in her lifetime, it would be that all Dover and Canterbury Diocese. One of the the “firsts” stop; that they become normal.