An update from Bishop Dagmar on the next Bishop of Ely - 15 July 2024
Dear Friends
Some of you will have already seen the announcement released this morning by the Archbishop of Canterbury:
Very sadly, at the conclusion of a lengthy process of discernment, culminating in two days of interviews on 11 and 12 July, the Crown Nominations Commission considering the nomination of the next Bishop of Ely has not been able reach the level of consensus required to nominate a new Diocesan Bishop.
Over the course of the next months, the Crown Nominations Commission will need to reflect, and make a decision about which stage it wishes to re-commence the discernment process. This is not likely to be before the Spring of 2025. Together with the Archbishop of York and others, there will also need to be a period of reflection on the implications of this decision on the Church of England more generally.
I will be speaking with Bishop Dagmar Winter, the Bishop of Huntingdon, in order to understand from her the best way of supporting the Diocese of Ely and her episcopal ministry in the coming months.
Please continue to hold the Diocese of Ely and the discernment of the Crown Nominations Commission in your prayers.
This is obviously a major disappointment for us all. It is my understanding that the next Bishop of Ely is unlikely to be in post before 2026.
Yet we must also remember that it is never good to make an appointment for the sake of making an appointment.
On behalf of us all, I would like to thank our six members from the Diocese representing us on the CNC – James, Felicity, Sarah, Alex, Simon and Christopher – for the time and energy they have invested so far and for the work yet before them. Please do not press them for details on what happened and why no nomination could be made: as part of the process, they are under strict obligation to keep matters confidential, not least for the sake of the candidates. Please respect this.
This morning’s New Testament reading (Luke 22:24-30) at Daily Prayer has Jesus reminding his followers how it shall be among us, namely that we serve one another. And this is what we shall continue to do and grow to do more in our Diocese, supporting each other’s ministry and furthering God’s mission.
Thank you for all your support, and alleluia, on we go!
Good wishes.
+Dagmar