Biography
The Venerable Rachel Treweek
Bishop of Gloucester Designate
The Ven. Rachel Treweek began her life in ordained ministry in 1994, after training at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. She served her title at St George & All Saints, Tufnell Park before becoming Vicar of St. James the Less, Bethnal Green in 1999. During her time in Bethnal Green Archdeacon Rachel also served as CME Officer and Bishop’s Visitor in the Stepney Area. She was appointed as Archdeacon of Northolt in 2006, serving in that role for five years, before becoming Archdeacon of Hackney in July 2011.
Archdeacon Rachel was brought up in Hertfordshire and was educated at Broxbourne School. She trained as a Speech and Language Therapist at Reading University where she gained a BA in Linguistics and Language Pathology.
Archdeacon Rachel worked as a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist within the NHS and served on the Child Development Team at the Royal Free Hospital before becoming the Clinical Manager for Paediatric Speech and Language Therapists in Health Centres across three north London health authorities.
It was whilst working as a Speech and Language Therapist that Archdeacon Rachel became interested in family dynamics. She began her training in 'Couples and Family Therapy' and completed her certificate at the Institute of Family Therapy once she was ordained.
Her previous training and specialist work continues to affect her perspective on the functioning of a parish and the wider church in society. This has led to an ever-increasing interest in conflict transformation. Since 2011 Archdeacon Rachel has been a Member of Bridge Builders’ Council of Reference.
A placement in South Africa in 1994 was a significant landmark and Archdeacon Rachel is now committed to the work of ALMA (The Angola, London and Mozambique Association). She is Vice Chair of the ALMA Strategy Group and Chair of the Finance and Projects sub-committee.
She has been a member of General Synod since 2010 and is also currently an adviser to the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality.
Her interests include walking and she admits to a fondness for chocolate. Archdeacon Rachel loves silence and describes her 30-day Retreat in 1998 as “a life-changing experience”.
In 2006, Archdeacon Rachel married Guy, who is a priest in the Diocese of London.
For more information contact:
James Butterworth, Head of Communications 07811 174 125, [email protected]
Ben Evans, Communications Officer 01452 835518, [email protected]
Katherine Clamp, Communications Officer 01452 835591, [email protected]