The Venerable Sarah Bullock, Archdeacon of York, is to be the new Area Bishop of Shrewsbury in the Diocese of Lichfield.
No 10 Downing Street announced today that the Queen has approved Sarah’s nomination in succession to the Right Revd Mark Rylands, who moved to parish ministry in Exeter Diocese in July 2018 after almost nine years as Bishop of Shrewsbury.
Sarah will be the first woman to serve as a bishop in the Diocese of Lichfield. She will join the Area Bishops of Wolverhampton and Stafford in an episcopal team led by the Bishop of Lichfield. Her particular responsibility will be the pastoral oversight of churches, ministers and communities in the towns and villages of North Shropshire, including Shrewsbury, and the northern part of Telford.
Sarah (55) trained for ministry at Cranmer Hall, University of Durham, a theological college in the evangelical tradition of the Church of England. She was ordained 26 years ago after a short career in teaching and children’s and youth work in the Diocese of Manchester. She then served there in a variety of parish and diocesan roles including Bishop’s Adviser for Women’s Ministry and Borough Dean for the City and Borough of Manchester. She was made an Honorary Canon of Manchester Cathedral in 2007.
In 2013 Sarah was appointed Archdeacon of York, a largely rural area which includes market towns, the deep rural communities of the Vale of York and the edges of the Yorkshire Wolds as well as the City of York. Building relationships in the rural communities has been a vital part of supporting and encouraging the churches and she has worked creatively with colleagues to develop new approaches to mission and ministry in such communities. While Archdeacon she has also learned to drive a tractor, operated a milking parlour, led a Carol Service in a cowshed at Askham Bryan (Agricultural) College and ridden a racehorse!