Bishop Rachel has announced the appointment of the new Archdeacon of Gloucester, the Revd John Whittaker.
John is currently Team Rector of the Parish of Putney, in the Diocese of Southwark and Area Dean of Wandsworth. He is married to Helena who is a Chaplain at Lady Margaret School in London and they have two adult children.
Subject to all the usual recruitment processes, John will transition into his new role from May with a formal start in September, and is looking forward to getting started. He said, “I have loved serving as a parish priest for 26 years and feel very excited to now be moving to a role giving support to clergy, laity and parishes across the Archdeaconry of Gloucester. It is a wonderful diocese to join and I look forward to joining in with offering the pastoral ministry of an archdeacon, supporting the implementation of the LIFE Together vision and energising a re-envisaging of the use of our church buildings. I very much look forward to working with the bishops, my fellow archdeacon and all the lay and ordained members of the parishes, institutions and community partnerships of the Diocese of Gloucester. Please do hold Helena and me in your prayers as we prepare for this big change in our lives!.”
Bishop Rachel is delighted by this appointment. She said, “I am delighted that John has accepted my invitation to be the next Archdeacon of Gloucester. He will bring valuable gifts and experience, especially focussed on finance, church buildings and the environment, rooted in prayer and faith in Jesus Christ as we continue to live out our Life Together vision across our worshipping communities. With Bishop Robert, Archdeacon Katrina and all members of the senior leadership team, I am greatly looking forward to working alongside him.”
John was born and brought up in Zambia, where his parents were working. He worked as an accountant in Leicester, where he completed undergraduate studies, before training for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon and getting ordained in 2000. After 18 years of ordained ministry in the Diocese of Leicester, John moved to his current post, the Parish of Putney in Southwark.
In his spare time, John loves cycling, using his sabbatical in 2023 to cycle around the 42 Church of England cathedrals.
Information about John’s licensing and installation as Archdeacon will be announced soon.
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