Ruth Worsley | |
---|---|
Interim Bishop of Liverpool and Bishop of Wigan | |
Church | Church of England |
Diocese | Diocese of Liverpool |
In office | 2025–present |
Other post(s) | Honorary Chaplain to the Queen |
Previous post(s) | Bishop of Taunton (2015–2025) Archdeacon of Wiltshire (2013–2015) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1996 (deacon) 1997 (priest) |
Consecration | 29 September 2015 by Justin Welby |
Personal details | |
Born | 1962 (age 62–63) |
Spouse | Howard |
Children | Three |
Alma mater | University of Manchester St John's College, Nottingham |
Ruth Elizabeth Worsley, KHC (born 1962) is a Church of England bishop. Since 2025, she has been Interim Bishop of Liverpool and Bishop of Wigan; she previously served as the Bishop of Taunton, a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Bath and Wells; and as Archdeacon of Wiltshire.
Worsley was born in 1962 in Hampton, Middlesex. [1] [2] She studied English literature, theology and biblical studies at the University of Manchester. While training to be a nurse, she felt the call to ministry and left to take up a position as a lay minister. [2] She trained for ordained ministry at St John's College, Nottingham, an Anglican theological college. [3]
Worsley was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Michaelmas 1996 (29 September) by Patrick Harris, Bishop of Southwell at St Mary's Church, Nottingham [4] and ordained a priest the Michaelmas following (5 October 1997), by Alan Morgan, Bishop of Sherwood at St Peter's Church, Ravenshead. [5] She served curacies at St Leodegarius Church, Basford (1996 to 1998) and St Stephen's Church, Hyson Green (1998 to 2001) in Nottingham. [1] From 2001 to 2008, she was priest-in-charge of the benefice of Hyson Green (St Stephen's Church) and Forest Fields. [1] [6] She was also Area Dean of Nottingham North between 2006 and 2008. [1]
From 2007 to 2010, Worsley was Dean of Women's Ministry in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and an honorary canon of Southwell Minster. [7] In 2009 she was appointed an Honorary Chaplain to the Queen; [8] and in 2010 to the post of Parish Development Officer for the Woolwich Area of the Diocese of Southwark. [9] In February 2013, she was appointed Archdeacon of Wilts. [10] She stood down as archdeacon upon becoming a bishop.
On 30 June 2015, she was announced as the next Bishop of Taunton, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. [3] [11] On 29 September 2015, she was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, during a service at St Paul's Cathedral, London. [12] [13] She was installed as Bishop of Taunton at Wells Cathedral on 2 October. [14] Her first act as a bishop was to admit and licence nine people as readers. [15]
On 13 September 2023, it was announced that Worsley would be seconded as Acting Bishop of Coventry. [16] On 5 November 2024, it was announced her time would be extended to 31 December 2024. [17]
On 28 February 2025, it was announced that Worsley was to become Interim Bishop of Liverpool (i.e. interim diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Liverpool) for a period of two years starting later in 2025; to facilitate this role, she would be translated from Taunton to the vacant suffragan See of Wigan (becoming Bishop of Wigan). [18] She was formally appointed to the See of Wigan by letters patent issued on 4 April 2025, [19] and was welcomed as Interim Bishop on 3 May 2025. [20] [21]
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". [22]
Worsley is married to Howard, who is also ordained in the Church of England. [6] [23] Together, they have three children. [2]