Anglicans appoint first woman bishop

The Rev Pat Storey makes history in being elected bishop of Meath and Kildare by Church of Ireland

theguardian.com, Staff and agencies, Friday 20 September 2013

The Rev Pat Storey, rector of St Augustine’s in Derry, has been appointed
 as the UK and Ireland's first woman bishop. Photograph: The Church
of Ireland/PA

Anglicans have appointed the UK and Ireland's first woman bishop.

The Rev Pat Storey, rector of St Augustine's in Derry, has been elected by the Church of Ireland as the new bishop of Meath and Kildare.

The married mother of two, who grew up in Belfast, said she was excited and daunted by the historic appointment.

The Anglican churches in Ireland, Wales and Scotland have the power to appoint woman bishops, but Ireland is the first to do so. The church in England has been embroiled in a long-standing row over the appointment of women bishops. The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said he wants to consecrate the first female bishop as soon as possible.

"I have had an extraordinarily happy experience in St Augustine's and in this wonderful city, which I will be sad to leave," said Storey.

"However, I count it an enormous privilege to begin a new phase of my ministry with the people of Meath and Kildare, and I look forward to working with the team of clergy who are already there.

"I would sincerely ask for your prayers for myself and my family, who are the best family in the world."

The archbishop of Dublin, Michael Jackson, said the appointment would bring delight to many across the Church of Ireland and throughout the Anglican communion.

"Pat herself brings to this work of God a warm personality and a breadth of spiritual gifts to share generously in the church and in the community," he said.

Storey, 53, studied French and English at Trinity College Dublin before training at the Church of Ireland Theological College.

She was ordained a deacon in 1997 and a priest the following year. The bishop-elect has been rector of St Augustine's in Derry since 2004.

She is married to the Rev Earl Storey and has two adult children, Carolyn, 25, and Luke, 22.

She will take over as the new bishop of Meath and Kildare from Dr Richard Clarke, who was appointed archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland last December.

The appointment was passed by the House of Bishops after the Episcopal Electoral College failed to elect a successor in May.

Clarke, the Church of Ireland's most senior leader, has known Storey since she was at Trinity College Dublin, where he was chaplain.

"She is a person of great warmth, intelligence and spiritual depth and I am certain that her ministry in the dioceses of Meath and Kildare and the wider church will be a blessing to many," he said.