From the Church of England

Downing Street has today (6th September) announced that the next Bishop of Winchester will be the Revd Canon Tim Dakin.

Bishop designate Tim (53), who is currently head of the Church Mission Society, will be consecrated as the 97th Bishop of Winchester in January and assume the role in Spring 2012.
As well as heading up CMS since 2000 Tim is also a member of the Church of England’s ruling body, the General Synod, an associate priest in the parish of Ruscombe and Twyford in the Diocese of Oxford and an Honorary Canon Theologian of Coventry Cathedral.

Winchester’s previous bishop, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, retired in May after 16 years in position leaving the diocese temporarily in the hands of the Bishop of Basingstoke the Rt Revd Peter Hancock.

Bishop Peter said: “I am delighted that the Reverend Canon Tim Dakin is to be appointed as Bishop of Winchester. His contribution as a theologian, especially in the area of mission, has been widely recognised and I am sure he will help us to engage more effectively with the communities, parishes and people that we seek to serve.”

Tim currently lives in Berkshire with his wife Sally – who is a midwife and also an associate priest – and their two children Anna (20) and Johnny (16).

He said: “To be asked to be Bishop of Winchester is an amazing privilege and presents me with a wonderful opportunity to serve in a new way. The appointment was a great surprise and I am both humbled and delighted.

“The Church of England is both fragile and robust. It’s fragile because of all the change, yet it’s strangely robust in the way we’re imaginatively tackling new opportunities.

“As Christians, our greatest communication challenge is to show, by what we do and who we are, that our faith is not primarily about what we do in church buildings but about how we live day by day. I shall bring with me a passion for mission, and a longing to see the church grow and have an impact in daily life.”

Chief executive of the Diocese of Winchester Andrew Robinson said: “I very much look forward to working with Tim. He will be joining the diocese at a time of great opportunity for growth and development.

“His skills demonstrated through his time at CMS mean he will be ideally suited to leading Winchester Diocese over the coming years.”

Tim was born to missionary parents in Tanzania and grew up both in East Africa and the UK. After studying theology at a university college in Plymouth and completing a Masters in theology at King’s College, London, he was ordained in 1993.

Tim returned to East Africa to work as principal at a Church Army college in Nairobi and served his curacy at the city’s Anglican cathedral – where he’d been to kindergarten and worshipped as a teenager!

He continued: “My life and role at CMS have included quite a bit of travel which has been tremendously enriching but I am now looking forward to being rooted in one particular place. I’m sure I shall enjoy living in Winchester.

"I’ve lived in southern England for a lot of my life. It’s been important for me to be rooted and to minster in the local parish where we live where I’ve been an associate priest for over 11 years.
“As we move forwards I feel honoured to be following Bishop Michael who is someone I respect and who supported me in my CMS role.”

The Diocese of Winchester is one of the five senior dioceses in the Church of England which means that Tim will automatically enter the House of Lords as one of the Lords Spiritual.

ENDS

Notes to Editoprs

• To download a high-res photograph of Tim Dakin, please click here (Photo Credit: Jeremy Woodham)
• For your interest - how a Bishop is selected: A diocesan bishop is selected through a lengthy process: Once a vacancy arises the diocese puts together a statement of particulars outlining the nature of Christian life in the diocese and hopes for the next Bishop. This is then presented to the Crown Nominations Commission which includes local and national members. It meets at least twice and researches and then interviews selected candidates before putting forward two nominations to Downing Street where the preferred candidate is traditionally accepted and presented to The Queen for approval. The 94th bishop of Winchester Bishop John V Taylor (1974-84) was also general secretary of CMS prior to assuming the role.
• For more information contact the Revd Mark Rudall on 07779 654975.